PROJECT: Earth
by EmeraldR0se
Summary: As far as most people go, Mark's just like everyone else. Go to college, get home before dinner, help out around the house, etc. But when PROJECT Yi pops into his life out of nowhere, Mark might have to add 'Fighting rogue champions' to the list… Follow Mark and his friends as they try to protect their world from the forces of evil. Rated T mostly for violence and suggestive themes
1. Chapter 1

PROJECT: Earth

Chapter 1: prologue

 _My name is Mark O'Neill, I'm twenty years old and live with my parents and little sister in a small silent town. I go to a college in the city, studying medicine, hoping to become a doctor one day. As a kid I've always wanted to be a superhero, but you know how that goes when you grow up, you got to face reality and choose an actual career since it's just a little impossible to be a superhero, right? I didn't know it back then but today is the day my whole life changed…_

Blades clashed, an orange blade clashed with red ones. A duel that would decide whether I'd live or die. The exhaustion was getting to me, I could barely defend myself from the incoming attacks. A voice told me to keep going, but I couldn't. I was too busy thinking how I got into this mess. In literally one day so much has changed in my life. After today nothing would go back to the way it was.

 _Whoops, that's a bit too far ahead, a little confusing isn't it? Let's start from the beginning shall we?_

* * *

Just like every other day I sat in the train on my way to school. The small town I live in is outside of the city, so I have to get up early almost every day just to make in on time.

 _''I wonder if today's going to be any different from other days. Nothing ever happens around here. I can't believe I always thought that the city was something special. I suppose that's what you get when you grow up outside of the town.''_ I thought to myself, thinking back at the old days when I was just a kid.

'' _Another day, another class with Goodson and his rants about how important schoolwork is, ugh.''_ While mentally complaining about my homeroom teacher, I didn't notice my train arriving at its final destination. What I also didn't notice was a not so happy looking girl, waiting on me next to the train.

 _Nathalie is pretty much my best friend. We grew up the same town and we both went to the same school when we were younger. My mom and her mom used to be friends before we were born. Atleast that's what my mom always tells us. Nathalie her mother passed away after she was born, the only thing she has left are pictures of her mother. That's why she loves taking pictures and always wanted to do something with photography for the longest time, but never got a chance to chase her dream. Her dad doesn't really supported her and wants her to become something like a doctor. Because of this she literally started doing the same study I'm doing, which is nice because after middle school we started to see eachother less and less until we started at the college two years ago, that's when we started to hang out again. She told me she had made up her mind about a job as photographer but she still loves taking pictures as a hobby. After being reunited after all these years we've been looking out for eachother again, just like the old days._

''Mark! I can't believe you're late. Again!'' Nathalie nearly yelled at me. ''How can you be late? Were you daydreaming again? No, no let me guess, you fell asleep in the train?''

''Good morning to you too.'' I said rubbing my tired eyes. ''For your information I just didn't notice the train had stopped. I mean c'mon it's early, I can't help it.''

''Very funny.'' Nathalie said putting her hands on her hips. ''That's not going to help the fact that we're going to mis our bus.''

''Just relax we're gonna be fine.'' I assured her with a nervous smile. _I doubt we're going to be fine. We still have to catch a bus…_

''Ugh, just like every other time you're way to relaxed. We're going to get in trouble because of it again…'' Nathalie said letting out a sigh. ''This is going to be the third time this month!'' She said while dragging me along.

''You know we could just make a run for the bus and hope we get there before a huge crowd forms.'' I said starting to run pass Nathalie. ''C'mon hurry up!''

After running for a moment I came to a hold at the bus stop waiting on the bus, slightly catching my breath. I didn't notice I left Nathalie behind as she came running around the corner, completely red-faced. She stopped next to me, resting her hand on her thigs, trying to catch her breath.

''Can you for once, not run off?'' Nathalie said through her panting.

''Right, I keep forgetting you're not as fast as I am.'' I said looking at Nathalie trying to regain her breath. Nathalie shifted her hands from her thighs to my shoulder so she wouldn't fall over. After catching her breath a bit she flipped me off with a smile.

''You better get that smug grin off your face, or I'll help you with it.'' Nathalie said regaining her composure. ''You know it's rude to leave a lady behind and make her run after you.'' She said putting a hand on her chest and mimicked a noble woman's accent.

''Oh fair maiden please forgive me, please don't send me off to the hangings.'' I begged with a smile. ''But seriously you shouldn't skip gym class so much, you'll get fat.'' I continued earning a punch to my arm from Nathalie.

"Aww you know exactly how to sweet talk a girl. No wonder you don't have a girlfriend." Nathalie said giving me a death glare. Before we both broke the silence with giggles and laughter.

 _This is the thing about Nath, she may not like all my jokes but we share the same sense of humor. I always tell her it's because her crazy matches my crazy._

Just then the bus finally arrived at its stop. The doors opened to let its passengers out. After all the people got off the bus, I got swarmed by what felt like a million of people, who wanted a seat in the bus. _I can't blame them, the bus is really late…_ In the process my phone fell from my coat, shattering the glass, making sure it would need to be repaired.

''Crap, now I'm gonna have to get this repaired.'' I said frowning at my broken phone. Nathalie laughed at my misfortune. **(AN: Never forget kids, friends help you through these kind of situations, best friends on the other hand will just make fun of you.)**

''It isn't funny Nath! Don't you know how much the repair is going to cost? Not to mention how long it's going to take?'' Nathalie patted my back and gave me a sympathetic face.

"Come on Mark it's not like you don't have money to pay for it and I'm pretty sure your parents would pay for it if you really couldn't pay for it.'' Nathalie said smiling at me. "Now let's sit before those seats get taken." Nathalie said as she made her way to two free seats. I was still looking at my phone. A little bummed out at what just happened.

* * *

After sitting in the bus for half an hour, we finally arrived at school, obviously way to late. We both knew our homeroom teacher Mr. Goodson wasn't going to be very forgiving about us being late again. Goodson's probably a nice guy if you get to know him, but as a teacher he is kinda… Hmmm, how do I put it, ah yes an ass. He is probably a little overworked and stressed to add to the list, he's just one of those teachers that follows the rules like his life depends on it. We walked into the classroom and were met with Goodson's angry eyes.

 _Looks like I'm going to have to take the blame for this one…_

''How many times have I told you two to take a bus earlier! This is the third time this month! You two keep being late to my class so I suppose I can't let you two enter my class.'' Goodson said with a sharp tone. _He probably hasn't had his morning coffee yet... hehe…_

''It's not Nathalie's fault Mr. Goodson, atleast be reasonable and let Natalie in, she's late because of me.'' I tried to reason with him, some people in the class started to whisper. _Bargaining with a teacher, not the smartest idea…_

''Oh, is that so? Well then I suppose I can let Nathalie participate in my class, however you are not allowed Mark and remember another slip up like this and you're in a lot more trouble. It's very honest of you to tell the truth but this is the final straw, you two are just late every single time. I just can't let you enter my class.'' Mr. Goodson said before turning back to the class. Nathalie took a seat with some of her friends and gave me an awkward smile, before I walked away. Leaving the classroom.

"Late again Markie?" A voice said from across the hall. It was Roxanne my ex-girlfriend. Ever thought damn my ex is fucking insane? Roxanne is probably that times ten. Seriously that girl was still obsessed with me, even after I broke up with her more than 2 years ago. She couldn't stand it when another girl had my attention and mostly went bonkers every time she saw me talking with Nathalie. _Never really understood the obsession anyway…_

"Yeah, kinda my fault though. I was being way to relaxed again, I got up late and nearly missed the train.'' I said putting my hands in my pockets. ''I suppose it's alright Goodson still let Nathalie in.'' I looked over to Roxanne who gave me a sour look in return at the mentioning of Nathalie. _You've got to be kidding me…_

''Hanging around with her again, Markie?'' She said walking up to me. ''It's a shame you chose her over me, we could have been so good together.'' Roxanne said running a finger underneath my chin, giving me a seductive look.

''I didn't choose her over you, hell I haven't had a relationship after we broke up.'' I said slapping her finger away, making her frown. ''You know damn well why I broke up with you.''

''Yeah, yeah because you thought I was being overprotective. But I have to be, you hang around that bitch way too much.'' Roxanne said looking into the classroom where Nathalie was sitting, making me frown at what she called Nathalie.

''I can't believe you! This is why I broke up with you!'' I said getting angry with Roxanne. ''Why can't you just accept that I have other female friends beside you? Are you really that obsessed with me?''

''Oh Markie, you are so blind, the fact that you can't see that it'll only take one thing for her to jump into your arms is just painful.'' She explained as the sour look returned on her face. ''I just couldn't let that happen then, and I won't now. You'll come crawling back to me one day. I just know it.'' Roxanne said pushing me aside and walking off.

 _Goddamn she's one crazy girl…_

* * *

The rest of the school day was pretty uneventful. We had some lessons on treating patients and wounds, before the day ended with a lecture about broken bones by my favorite teacher Goodson (NOT) and ofcourse he gave us an extra homework assignment. _Typical Goodson, handing out extra homework…_

The bus stopped at the train station, while I was deep in thought about what I was going to do when Nathalie spoke up, waking me from my daydream

''Don't forget to swing by tonight so we can prepare for Goodson's fieldtrip. My dad is working a night shift so he won't throw a tantrum when he finds out I had you over.'' Nathalie said reminding me for the third time.

''I won't mom, I'll be there around eight, don't worry. I won't forget.'' I assured her earning a giggle from her. ''You go on ahead, I still need to get my phone fixed and the faster I do that, the faster I get my phone back.'' I said earning a smirk from Nathalie.

''Just promise you won't forget to stop by. We really have to prepare for this fieldtrip or else Goodson's going to explode.'' Nathalie said giving me a serious look.

''I promise I won't forget, c'mon have a little faith in me.'' I said nudging her a bit earning a few more giggles as she started giggling I began tickling Nathalie a bit making her laugh.

''Mark stooooooop! Fine get your phone fixed, just make sure you're on time tonight!'' Nathalie laughed before escaping my grasp and walking off towards the train giving me a wave.

 _Apparently Goodson gave us an assignment for the excursion for next week, which means we aren't spending a lesson in the classroom, which sounds like a win in my book._

''I didn't even know there was a phone shop near the station'' I thought aloud as I passed a newly opened shop which looked like some kind of repair shop. ''Well its worth a shot.'' I told myself as I entered the shop

An older looking man in what looked like some sort of lab coat stood behind the counter. He looked like a man who knows what he's doing. The man greeted me and asked me what he could help me with. In response I showed him my phone. Before I was able to ask if he could fix it for me he took it from my hand.

''Don't worry about it buddy, I'll be able to fix it.'' He assured me. ''Looks like your phone's screen needs a replacement and the processor inside is broken. It'll take me a bit longer but it'll be quick.'' _These kinda things often cost a ton and take for ages, there goes the money I was saving._

''I'll be right back.'' The man said taking my phone into a small workshop behind the counter.

I couldn't believe my ears, this weird guy was going to fix a broken phone in only a few minutes? Just like that? _This guy must be some kind of pro when it comes to fixing phones or maybe he's a wizard, a phone wizard, pff what am I thinking…_

I was pretty damn surprised when the man came back from his workshop a few moments later with my phone repaired, he was finishing putting it back together with a small tool. The lights on my phone glowed a bit orange, which may I add looked pretty freaking sweet. _This is going to cost me most of my savings isn't it? Screw you fate!_

''That was insanely quick… That's gonna cost me extra isn't it?'' I asked a bit afraid of the answer.

''It's for free, don't worry about it buddy, just don't let it happen again.'' My eyes lit up with amazement at the mentioning of the repair being free of charge. Great service, quick and free of charge.

''Man, I thought I was lucky for finding this place randomly, but this really made my day sir! Thank you!'' I said gratefully accepting my repaired phone. _Best. Day. Ever._

I thanked the man dearly for repairing my phone a second time (It was free after all!) before leaving his shop, he just smiled at me as I got to the station to wait for the next train to arrive. _Now it's finally time to go home…_

* * *

After an exhausting train ride home, the sun had already set and the last cold winter winds were kicking up, which wasn't all that lovely if I say so myself. _I can't believe it's almost spring… yet these cold winds keep coming back…_

I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket as I neared my neighborhood. I pulled out my phone and read the messages I hadn't read yet.

 _From Nathalie:_

''Don't forget! Be here past eight, that's when my dad leaves!''

''Really? Reminding me a third time? C'mon I asked you to have some faith in me… :P'' I send back a bit annoyed at her text. _Although it's really sweet of her to remind me…_

''Fourth* time! Don't forget :)'' A new message showed itself almost instantly on my screen making me smile.

''Fine, around eight. I'll be there no problem.'' I send back before checking the other message I got from my little sister.

 _From Gremlin (Emily):_

''Next time you order something online please let me know, k? that little box of yours could have been frozen in this god awful weather.''

''Hey! Winter is beautiful! Don't disrespect the best season of all!'' I send back as a joke.

''Mark… Don't get sidetracked. The little box, what's in it?'' Emily send back within seconds.

''Right the little box, how are you sure it's mine?'' I send back a bit confused. _Pretty sure I didn't order anything…_

''Your name is on the package, so it's your problem =p'' Emily send back after a moment of typing.

''So the package has my name on it, but you took the liberty to open it up and check what's inside? Rude :('' I send back, meaning half of the message although it was meant as a joke this wasn't the first time Emily opened my mail, she knows I hate it.

''I got curious!'' She send back. ''Now hurry up and take it off my hands, I've got silver promo's with my duo! Cya nerd!''

''Who does she think she is? Calling me a nerd? She plays more than I do… Well, I might as well go home and check this box out and see what's inside.'' I said to myself while walking home.

Not noticing the menacing red and grey figure perched on top of the rooftops near me, keeping its visor focused on me.

* * *

 **Authors note**

 **Emerald here for a freaking third time, I just keep being dissatisfied with these first couple of chapters… So for the third time since the chapter has been live I'm adding things here and there! Just small updates and grammar fixes, which most likely add new ones eksdee. Anywho this is chapter one version 5.0 or something… I lost count _ Maybe this time I will be satisfied with the results. Down below you can see the added authors note from last update and the original underneath that one. Anyway gtg bye! (Future, future) Emerald out!**

 **Emerald Here with a quick side note after the chapter has been up for about nine weeks or so. I corrected some mistakes in the chapter and some things I wasn't satisfied with, mostly because some of the mistakes I made were horrible, lol. Still hope you enjoyed the chapter. Down below is the original authors note for the chapter with a bit more clarification on things. Anyway (future) Emerald out…**

 **Well there you have it folks, the first chapter of my very first fanfiction ever! It's a bit of a slow start with split up small chapters in the beginning, but I promise the upcoming chapter are going to be longer (around 4.5k up until 5/6k.). This is like version 3.0 of this chapter. I changed so much stuff in the last few days and I think it's finally ready to be uploaded. I really hope you all enjoyed it (don't worry action is coming :P). I've never written an English story like this before so excuse me of any mistakes in the story. The next chapter will be available shortly after I post this one, wouldn't want to let the excitement build up to much (or would I? mehehehehe). See you guys in the next chapter,**

 **Emerald out.**


	2. Chapter 2

PROJECT: Earth

Chapter 2: Fusion

''Emily! I'm home! Where are you, you little gremlin?'' I yelled through the house as I opened the front door.

''Shuddup I'm ingame! I put the little box on the kitchen counter, now leave me alone!'' She yelled from upstairs.

''Waiting on someone really is that hard huh…'' I muttered to myself as I walked into the kitchen. On the kitchen counter lay the little orange box with a post it note on it, which read ''Marks junk :P''. _Really mature Emily, really mature…_

I knocked on Emily's door before opening it. I opened the door to her room to reveal the tiny blonde in champion select. ''Hey do you know if there's any news on when dad's coming home?'' I asked carefully poking my head inside.

''Ugh, leave me alone, I told you I'm in my promo games. I need to focus.'' Emily said taking off her cat-ear headset.

''Like you need to focus in champ select, you one trick Lux!All you should need to win is Lux!'' I said earning a death glare from Emily. ''Not to mention dad is way more important than a video game.''

''Relax it's not like he's never been late before. I mean he went to Japan for crying out loud, maybe he had to do program some more robotics for his new boss.'' Emily said turning back to her pc screen.

''But he would have called by now if he did…'' I said, leaning against her doorway.

''Mark, I really don't have time for this right now. Take your little box and get out of my room so I can play League!'' Emily said getting annoyed. (Well more annoyed than before.)

I quickly left Emily's room with the little box underneath my arm and walked down the hallway into my own room. I sat down at my desk and inspected the little box, it seemed pretty useless. It looked nice but that was mostly it, the box was made of some sort of glass with orange streaks running around the edges. My phone reacted to the box activating some sort of adapter.

''It looks like some kind of charger.'' I thought aloud. I walked through my room with the two pieces which most likely were able to connect and took a seat on my bed, unsure if I should connect the pieces.

''Meh, it's not like I've got anything better to do.'' I said connecting the two pieces. The phone and the box reacted with eachother but this time giving me some sort of electric shock.

The last thing I saw before I lost consciousness was my bedroom ceiling.

''Markus, wake up'' I heard a voice call out to me, it sounded familiar. _I've heard that voice before, I just can't remember where._ As quick as the voice woke me up, it silenced itself leaving me wondering where it came from. I checked the time on the pc and boy let me tell you I was out cold for atleast an hour. Right after checking the time my stomach started growling like crazy. ''Guess I should get some food before helping Nath with the assignment.'' I thought aloud. Before heading downstairs.

* * *

Once I got downstairs I was met by my little sister and my mom who were doing the dishes.

''Look who decided to wake up from his beauty sleep'' Emily said.

''You should try it sometimes maybe you'll actually get asked out for a change.'' I replied to her comment earning me a slight glare from her.

''Atleast I'm not as fat as Gragas, have you seen yourself in the mirror lately? You're gaining weight.'' She replied back at my comment.

''Alright knock it off you two I've been busy all day with paperwork, I still have a mountain to go through and I really don't feel like dealing with this.'' My mom snapped at the both of us while walking out of the kitchen. ''Mark you finish cleaning those dishes with your little sister, I don't want to be in the middle of this right now.'' She said before walking off.

''What has gotten into her?'' I asked Emily.

''Meh, mom's just worried about dad not being home yet and to be honest I am too, he would have atleast called us by now to tell that his plane had landed.'' Emily said with a worried expression.

''I know you and mom worry about him, but he's fine maybe his phone just died, who knows?'' I assured her.

As I helped Emily with the dishes our little talked ranged from topic to topic ending about some league matches she had had in the last couple of days. I had accidentally influenced my little sister to play league, she walked in on me playing Lux and of course my sister felt attracted to her ''lookalike'' as she called Lux. Damn Star Guardian skins why do you have to look so nice? After doing some research on the champion she was sold, she had to play Lux every single game she played. And of course I had to teach her.

''Oh by the way I have to leave soon, Nathalie is expecting me to stop by and help her with an assignment for the excursion next week. You don't mind cleaning these last few dishes right?'' I asked her while putting on my most friendly smile I could manage.

''Sure I don't want to get in the way of my big brother and the love of his life.'' She said while sticking her tongue out to me and giving me a wink.

''Oh please, you of all people should know we're not like that.'' I said a little annoyed. Earning a ''suuuuuure'' and a ton of laughs from the small blonde.

* * *

I walked into my room, picking a clean hoodie to wear for the short walk to Nathalie's home. _Winter may almost be over, but that doesn't mean it can't be cold as hell._ I put the hoodie on and looked at the small glass box on my desk. ''Another day wasted away doing nothing at all, and here I thought you would be something special after knocking me unconscious, if that was even real. Maybe I'm just exhausted…'' I said talking to the inanimate object.

''Oh, but it certainly is something special.'' The mysterious voice spoke up again, stopping my train of thoughts.

''What the? Who?… What!? Where is that annoying voice coming from!?'' I looked around my room for the source of the voice, slightly panicked.

''You might have freed me from my 'prison' if you could call it that, but some respect for a champion of Ionia would be nice.'' The voice said exclaimed. ''And to answer your question, look at your mobile device.''

It was a bit strange listening to instructions coming from a voice on my phone, but when I took a look at my phone for the first time after the shock, I noticed the whole thing had changed. There was no menu, apps or anything. There were six orange lights representing eyes and a long line representing some sort of mouth. I instantly knew who's voice I have been hearing, it was Mater Yi's, well Project Yi's voice to be exact. ''WHA!'' I yelled dropping my phone out of surprise as the eyes blinked at me.

''Markus would you be so kind and not drop me next time?'' Yi asked as I picked the phone back up from my bedroom floor. ''It's not good for your device.''

''What are you doing in there!? Get out!'' I said taking a seat on my bed before I fell over from the strange moment I was having. _I must be hallucinating, this can't be real._

 _''You aren't hallucinating Markus, this is very real.''_ Yi's voice rang through my head.

''Get out of my head! Seriously that is so weird!'' I said annoyed, looking down to the six eyes displayed on my phone. ''And stop calling me Markus, it's Mark.''

''Your personal information suggests otherwise.'' Yi said calmly.

''That's just the name my parents gave me when I was born, it's way easier to just call me Mark. Wait… getting sidetracked again! Get out of my phone!''

''How?'' Yi asked confused. ''You aren't the only one who is confused about all this.''

''Are you telling me you don't know how to get out of my phone? Like in you're stuck with me?'' I said holding my head with my free hand, taking everything in.

''It seems that way, do you not possess any summoning magic, Mark?'' Yi asked almost one-hundred percent sure what the answer was going to be.

''No… ofcourse I don't…'' I said calming down a bit. ''What are we going to do about this? I mean finding a way to get you back to where you belong is obviously the biggest task.. but how?''

''I suppose we are stuck together until we find a way to get me back home.'' Yi said making it almost sound like a joke.

''I really don't have time for this now, I need to help a friend out with an assignment, I hope you understand we'll have to keep quiet about this to everyone?'' I asked a bit unsure, hoping Yi would understand.

''Judging by your reaction, I think it is safe to say that that is the right thing to do.'' Yi agreed with me.

''You just make sure you stay quiet until we're alone again ok? I don't feel like dealing with the trouble of people snooping around my life.'' I said, getting back up from my bed and walking downstairs.

* * *

I filled Yi in on what happened before he got stuck in my phone, after I did Yi started telling all he remembered as we passed an old playground where me, Nathalie and our friends used to play, that was until they either moved away or just stopped hanging around us. I walked up to twin swings and took a seat on one of them and placed my phone with Yi on the other swing, listening to the final part of his story.

''So like I said Mark, the last thing I remember was searching for my disappeared allies. I remember Fiora telling me not to go, but I didn't listen. The guilt of not looking for them, became to much for me to bare and I disobeyed orders…'' Yi said a bit depressed.

''This is just so weird, I don't get it. I mean what the fuck? Where did you even come from? And how did you end up in this world, not to mention who send you to me? The package didn't say who send it, and you don't remember.'' I let out a deep sigh, thinking about the crazy situation. ''I mean, no offence but you aren't supposed to be real! You're a fictional character.''

''None taken. But Mark we can't just keep quiet about this, someone has to know or people will find out one way or another…'' Yi said, thinking about our options. ''We just need to find the right people to tell…''

''Why is the first person that comes to mind Nathalie? I mean sure I've known her my whole life it only makes sense to trust my friend with such a secret, but is it the right choice?'' I thought aloud, making Yi chuckle. ''What's so funny?''

''Nothing friend, it's something personal.'' Yi explained. ''Maybe we need to think this over a bit more before jumping to conclusions.'' Yi suggested.

''You're probably right. Heh, this is literally the weirdest thing ever.'' I said laughing a bit. ''I mean you're a cyborg ninja warrior with magic powers and somehow you got trapped inside my smartphone.''

''It sounds like what you've been waiting for. Did you not say you wanted something special to happen?'' Yi asked in his calm voice. ''Yes, this truly is bizarre. I can't remember anything, I do remember fighting alongside Ashe and our allies, but the rest is cloudy, almost corrupted.'' Yi explained with a frustrated tone in his voice.

''I feel ya man, that's rough. Not knowing your past and having to relive some of it probably took its toll on you.'' I answered. ''I mean even for a Wuju blademaster you've been through some stuff.''

''Indeed I have, but I am… was not alone on that path, this is a completely different story.'' Yi said.

''We'll find a way to get you back home. I promise.'' I said letting out a long sigh before looking up at the sky, enjoying the almost cloudless night sky.

The evening was so calm. The skies where cloudy, the moon and stars where out already. As I looked up to the moon I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, creating a minor moment of total peace and tranquility in my mind, accepting everything that had happened tonight. The little moment was interrupted by a red razor shuriken which impaled itself into the ground between my feet.

''Looks like I found myself another champion'' a dark voice said. Stepping out of the shadows was Zed, The Master of Shadows. Two thing stood out the most about him. One, he also wore his PROJECT attire. And two. He wasn't trapped inside a phone like Yi was.

Judging by the giant shuriken between my feet I knew Zed meant trouble. I quickly took Yi and made a run for it. I knew Zed would outrun me eventually (I mean c'mon my cardio isn't that bad but the guy is a freaking ninja!), but I had to try.

In my panic to get away from the master assassin I ran into an alleyway with a fence. ''That's just great a dead end!'' I yelled putting my hands against the fence. _Too high to climb over… I don't see him anywhere, maybe I lost him…_

My thoughts where interrupted by a hand grabbing my arm from behind and forced me to turn around. Out of nowhere one of Zed's shadow clones appeared in front of my eyes as the arm let go of me and disappeared. I wanted to run but my legs wouldn't budge out of fear. The clone suddenly swapped with the real Zed as he stabbed me in my leg, preventing me from running away again.

''Quiet the athlete you are, I almost had to work for my kill.'' Zed said menacingly before throwing me into the fence.

He slowly stalked towards me, unsheathing his red armblades. The neon light coming from his armor and weapons lighting up the alleyway. In the moment of panic I tried crawling backwards, completely forgetting the fence was behind me. Not that it mattered, Zed was way faster than me and pulled me up by my hoodie and forced me into the fence, this time holding me in place.

''Oh I'm going to enjoy killing you.'' Zed said, drawing back one of his armblades, readying it to stab me.

I closed my eyes and shielded my face trying to block the blade as it came closer and closer to my face.

* * *

When I opened my eyes again, everything changed. The alleyway was no longer dark or lit up by Zed's armor, everything looked brighter than before. I looked around for Zed who had seemingly disappeared. I noticed his form on the ground on the other side of the alley. I felt a wave of pain hit my leg and looked down, inspecting the wound.

''What the fuck!?'' I looked down at my leg which was covered in metal. ''What did I do?''

''Calm down Mark, I used some of my power to create my PROJECT armor around you, shielding you from Zed's blow.'' Yi explained hastily.

Before I got the chance to react to Yi saving my life, I noticed Zed's body disappearing, replacing it with one of his shadow clones.

''This isn't over yet Mark. Zed's not done yet.'' Yi said.

''So you two figured out how to fuse together, it's not going to save you.'' Zed's voice could be heard coming from the shadows in the alley, before reappearing behind me, slicing at my back with his armblade and kicking me into the wall of the alley. ''Come on Markus, you're supposed to be special.'' Zed mocked before he appeared again next to me slicing into my arm.

''Wha-! How do you know my name!?'' I yelled, while dodging another attack from Zed (Shadowboxing with the Master of Shadows? Not my proudest moment…). Zed disappeared again in the shadows, laughing menacingly.

''Mark whoever or whatever is in that armor didn't come to talk, we need to fight back if we want to survive.'' Before I could protest, Yi's neon orange sword floated in front of my face. _Guess I don't have a choice but to grab it…_

''Are you challenging me? Really?'' Zed mocked, stepping out of the shadows. Without a second thought he charged at me, I barely had enough time to raise my sword. Sparks were the only thing between me and Zed. I stopped his charge with my sword. And so our duel began.

I tried my best to block all Zed's incoming attacks but my defense was weak and I got hit multiple times.

 _''Stop blocking and fight back!''_ Yi ordered mentally. I chose to ignore Yi. I didn't know who was in that armor but whoever it was, knew me.

 _''I can't risk killing him''_ I thought. _''He might know how you got here!''_

 _''He won't think twice about slicing us apart, he knows your name, he probably also knows your family and friends too. If you don't fight back you are putting them all in grave danger!''_ Yi reasoned with me.

Yi's warning was enough for me to get motivated. Slowly but surely I began fighting back, mostly getting a counterattack in here and there, forcing Zed to block the attacks I was throwing his way. But even with all my effort I couldn't keep this up, the injuries Zed had created during our short lived duel were weighting me down compared to him.

Zed clearly had enough of the fight and charged me one more time, forcing our blades together. Our blades clashed, my orange sword with Zeds red armblades. I was exhausted, I couldn't keep on fighting. Yi kept motivating me mentally but I blocked him out.

I couldn't keep going, Zed and I both knew this. Zed was ready to finish the duel and summoned multiple shadow clones hitting me from three different sides, forcing me to the ground in pain. _Death Mark… This is bad…_

''Look at you, pathetic.'' Zed mocked again as he grabbed me by the neck, forcing me to look into his visor. _''He's just waiting for the Death Mark to finish me off!''_

''What a waste of such power.'' Zed said throwing me to the ground, walking away slowly.

 _''Focus on him and attack from here, wait until right before the Death Mark goes off.''_ Yi instructed.

 _''You mean use Alpha Strike? I don't know how!''_ I said, trying my hardest to focus on Zed's turned back. _Do or die… C'mon Mark!_

As I felt the mark nearing its peak, I attacked Zed and teleported towards him slicing at his side, dodging the killing blow the Death Mark would have done. Zed turned around in shock and took the full blow of the attack. He looked down at the huge cut on his chestplate before putting one hand on it.

''Ugh… you bastard…'' He said, the hand on his chest balling into a fist. ''I will be back to finish this another time.'' Zed said before opening a shadow portal and disappearing into it, leaving me alone in the alleyway.

After a brief moment of recollecting my breath, I slowly got up from my seated position. Pain ran through my body as I inspected the cuts Zed had left in the armor, most of them were bleeding, some worse than others.

 _''I have to get out of the street… What if someone sees me like this? They'd think I'm some sort of alien! The police would be all over me or maybe even worse…''_ I thought mentally. I noticed my vision getting blurry as I stumbled out of the alleyway.

Right at that moment an idea struck me.

 _''Nathalie! She'd help me, I'm sure!''_

 _''Mark, are you sure that is the best idea right now? We talked about this… maybe this is not the best idea…''_ Yi said trying to find a better solution to our problem. _''Maybe it's better if we don't get her involved in all this.''_

''It's not like we have a choice, I- we need her help...'' I muttered, while limping towards Nathalie's home.

After limping for a couple of minutes, I finally made it to Nathalie's front door. I tried raising my hand to knock on her door, but after knocking twice I collapsed against the door with a loud thud, blacking out (again).

* * *

 **Authors note**

 **There you have it folks. The second chapter as I promised. another cliffhanger muhahahaha. Sorry about that, the next chapter will be available as soon as possible. If there is any mistakes in this chapter please tell me, I've rewritten most of this chapter (for the third time, past me please) at 3 o'clock in the morning (Christ I don't even remember that) cause it didn't feel right the first five times. If you have any questions or suggestions for the story please let me know, I'll try my best to answer as many questions as possible in the next authors note (if there are any…). I also found a really nice piece of art after posting the first chapter so I used it as a cover for the story !if any of you readers knows the author please send me the link so I can credit them! Thank you.**

 **Until next time,**

 **Emerald out.**


	3. Chapter 3

PROJECT: Earth

Chapter 3 : No turning back

''Oh my god.'', I groaned in pain as I tried to hold my head in my hands. Yi's armor blocked me from touching my face, I had completely forgotten about the armor.

 _Must be the blood loss..._

I looked around me and quickly noticed I wasn't outside anymore, but in someone's room. I sat up a bit from the bed I was laying on took a look around. The room didn't look anything out of the ordinary, what did stand out was the giant collection of pictures pinned to the wall. Pictures of animals, landscapes. Sunsets, people smiling, I could make out one picture of two familiar faces with large smiles on their faces.

 _Is that… me?..._

I tried taking a closer look at the picture on the wall but instead fell to the floor, face first with a loud thud.

''Damn, didn't know I am this weak.'' I muttered to myself, while trying to get back up from the ground. A sharp pain pulsed through my leg, as I held it for a moment until the pain began to become bearable again. ''Right, Zed…'' I said, remembering everything, Zed showing up, running, fighting, collapsing against the door. I was about to get up again when the door to the room flew open and in walked Nathalie with what looks like a baseball bat?

''Wowowowo! Stop it right there! I'm in enough pain as it is!'' I yelled, raising my armored hands to bock the incoming swing from the bat, which thankfully never came. Nathalie lowered her weapon with a skeptical look and took a look at me, deep in thought.

''Mark… is that you in there!?'' Her expression changed from afraid and confused to a worried one as she quickly rushed to my side and helped me back onto her bed before giving me a quick hug. From what I could see, (which wasn't much because of the sudden hug.) it looked like Nathalie her eyes were a bit puffy.

''What happened to you? Why are you in this… thing? Why are you bleeding? How bad is the pain? Can you walk?'' Nathalie started to barrage me with questions as she broke up the hug and quickly wiped away a few tears in her eyes.

''It's a really long story Nath.'' I said with a sigh, while trying to get Yi's helmet off of my head.

''Be careful with that! If the armor takes more damage it will take me even more time to undo it! And after what Zed has done, I'm going to need a lot of time…'' Yi explained a bit annoyed by me trying to pry off the helmet.

''WAAA!'' Nathalie yelped out in surprise, nearly jumping into the air and falling backwards with her back on the floor. ''Who was that!? Show yourself!'' She said raising her hands, ready for a fight.

''I'll unlock the helmet for you Mark. Now stop prying at it!'' Yi said as the helmet came loose like it was never stuck. I took off the helmet and looked down at the glass of on the front. The glass had a large crack through it from left to right.

''Must have been when Zed threw me into the wall of the alley…'' I said, inspecting the damaged helmet. I looked back up to Nathalie who was staring at me, wide-eyed. ''What's so special, you look like you've seen a ghost.''

''Mark your hair…'' Nathalie said raising a hand towards my face. ''It's white as snow…'' She whispered while running her hand through it.

''What? Pretty sure my hair's-'' My mouth fell open as I saw my reflection in the mirror inside Nath's room. ''What the…''

''That would be because we 'fused' together Mark.'' Yi explained. ''Atleast that's what Zed called the process, ''Maybe you not only get the armor, but you also gain a bit of my physical attributes. Like the white hair.'' Yi said thinking about his theory.

''Am I going crazy or is there another voice around here?'' Nathalie asked while rubbing her eyes, making sure she wasn't dreaming.

''Right sorry Nath, this is Yi, Yi this is Nathalie, the girl I told you about.'' I tried my best to introduce the two which turned out to be a little awkward. (A man can try, can he not?) ''I'm sure you've heard that name before, right Nath?''

''Isn't he a character from some video game, you and your sister always bicker about?'' Nathalie asked with a confused look on her face. ''That makes no sense.''

''Yep that one, it turns out the game is a bit more real than anyone realized or atleast there's a universe out there where he exists.'' I explained to Nathalie.

''But what is he doing here? And why are you dressed like that?'' Nathalie asked a bit worried about me.

''Well… Yi seems to be stuck here on earth, we were on our way to fill you in on all of this, when we were attacked by Zed, another character from the game. He wasn't holding back, and if it wasn't for Yi, I would have been dead…'' I said avoiding Nathalie's worried gaze. ''That's basically the short version of the story…''

Nathalie gave me a look of disbelieve, like I was a crazy. But the armor and my wounds were proof enough that the game was a lot more realistic then anyone could have guessed. As an awkward silence began to form between us, I dropped the helmet and grabbed my leg in pain as another wave of extremely painful pulses shot through my leg.

''Oh god, Mark! Are you ok!?'' Nathalie asked looking at my leg. ''I think I have something for that!'' She said pointing at me leg before getting up, waiting for me to answer her.

''I'll take anything I can get at this point, but I'm stuck in the armor.'' I said through gritted teeth.

''You aren't stuck inside don't be silly, it's a perfect fit. Just give me a moment and I'll make sure it gets off your body.'' Yi explained. ''But before I do that, you need to heal, especially your leg.''

''What do you mean by that Yi?'' Nathalie asked with a hint of urgency in her words.

''He's talking about one of his abilities, Meditate.'' I explained to Nathalie. ''But humans don't have magic capabilities in this world, Yi. It isn't common among humans on this earth.'' I explained to Yi.

''You already have magic in your system, so to speak. How else were you able to wake me up and fuse with me?'' Yi asked. ''Maybe it's unknown on this world, but magic is everywhere, even here.''

''So basically what you're saying is that the people of our world are ignorant for not believing in magic…'' Nathalie said thinking about what Yi said.

''Pretty much.'' Yi said chuckling a bit. ''Now Mark, I need you to focus really hard just like last time when fighting Zed, but this tie focus on yourself. More importantly, healing yourself. Create calmness in your mind, just like actual meditation.'' Yi said explaining what I had to do.

''Nath, you might want to take a step backwards.'' I said slowly taking a meditation pose. I let out a deep breath before focusing on myself. A strange sensation surged through my body as Meditate started to activate. Magic kept me in place in mid-air as it flowed through my body, healing some of the wounds I had gotten from fighting Zed. The spell reached its peak and dropped me majestically on the ground (I landed right on my face.), earning a snort of laughter from Nathalie.

Within seconds of Meditate ending, the armor left my body, disappearing into thin air. I looked down at my clothes or what was left of it. My hoodie had cuts across my arms and chest. Some of the holes in my pants and hoodie had bloodstains in them. What stood out the most was the spot where the cut in my thigh had been, the wound was completely healed but the pants had a big cut in them with some blood around the edges.

''Mark you suck, you're still bleeding.'' Nathalie said pointing at the cut on my chest. She trailed her hand across my chest but stopped at my heart. ''You're lucky your attacker didn't thrust harder when he made this cut, he could have stabbed you straight through the heart.'' Nathalie said, while keeping her hand on the spot,

''Hmm, lucky me. Say, you enjoying the view Nath?'' I joked catching Nathalie off guard.

''I-I-I'll go get some bandages for that.'' she quickly said before leaving the room with a rather deep shade of scarlet staining her cheeks. I let out a loud laugh as Nathalie rushed out of the room.

''You did pretty good for a first timer and under a lot of pressure, but you need to practice and master the Wuju techniques if you want to stand a chance next time.'' Yi said breaking me out of my small moment.

''What do you mean 'next time'? I said as I made the quotation marks on ''next time'' extra clear.

''Zed will most likely return for a second fight, you need to be ready to face him again.'' Yi said with a serious voice.

''What makes you so sure he'll be back?''

''Zed is not one to give up his target so easily, he will keep hunting us until he gets what he's after.''

Yi's words had me worried, Zed apparently knew who I was and if I really was his target that could mean he's waiting at my home right now.

''Yi you seem to know more than I do about all this, why is Zed after us?'' I asked a bit unsure if I really wanted to know the answer to that question.

''I have no idea, Mark. It might be because of my armor, maybe it holds a power he wants to make his own…'' Yi guessed, it was clear that Yi was afraid of letting such a thing happen.

''Hey cheer up you negative Nancy's! Your team just got a lot better with me in on the action!'' Nathalie cheered, barging back into the room. _It's kinda cute how she can be this positive in a time like this…_

''Now if you don't mind me asking, Mark… Take off your shirt so I can treat your wounds.''

''Uhm… how about no? Dinner and a movie first is the rule right?'' I asked with a grin on my face. _That better lighten the mood a bit..._

''Wow! Only dinner and a movie? You're an easy one Mark, I'll keep that in mind.'' Nathalie said giggling as I took off my hoodie and shirt, revealing my chest to her.

''This might sting a bit.'' Nathalie said while cleaning the wound with alcohol.

''It probably feels better than when you got it, doesn't it Mark?'' Yi asked slyly.

''Hmmm?'' Me and Nathalie responded to Yi's weird question.

 _''I can sense your attraction to her. No need to hide it.''_ Yi's voice rang through my head.

 _''Whaaaat? Nah, well maybe… But not in the way you mean it!''_ I quickly responded.

 _''Sigh, kids never change do they?''_ Yi laughed after he let out the sigh.

''Mark? What's wrong? You're all red.'' Nathalie asked finishing bandaging up my chest.

''It's nothing Nath, don't worry about it.'' I said, nervously scratching behind my head. ''Are you almost done? It's a bit chilly in here.''

''Almost I just need to fix up your arm and after that I'm done.'' Nathalie said smiling bright at me. ''Yi how about you tell me a bit more about yourself, while I help this goofball with his arm.''

''…'' Yi stayed quiet for a moment before speaking up again. ''I… don't remember much about what happened before I joined the PROJECT.'' He said hesitantly.

''Oh… I-I didn't meant to-'' Nathalie hesitantly responded before being cut off by Yi.

''No it's fine, I've come to terms with my loss of memories. I treasure every single new one I make.'' Yi said cheerful. ''What I do remember is being injured pretty badly and being offered a choice to join to PROJECT.'' Yi explained.

''How did that happen?'' I asked interested in Yi's story.

''If I knew I would have told you.'' Yi said calmly. Nathalie gave me a bored look and shushed me.

''Please continue, Yi.'' She said, continuing binding my arm with bandages.

''Like I said it was an offer I couldn't really refuse, it was either join them or die. So I gave up my human body for an enhanced cyborg one…'' Yi said, judging by his voice he wasn't too proud of his decision. ''After that I was woken up by Fiora and joined Ashe and the resistance to safe humanity.''

''That's it!? Wow, that's intense…'' Nathalie said while finishing bandaging up.

''I can't remember much more about the events that happened before my time as a cyborg, those memories might be lost forever… I'm sorry.'' Yi said with a huff.

''Meh, you can't help it Yi. Those Zaunite bastards are the ones that did this to you, no need to be sorry.'' I added trying to cheer Yi up a bit.

''Oh crap! Mark you should get going!'' Nathalie said, looking at the clock in her room. ''My dad's nightshift is gonna end soon and he'll be coming home soon! He'll freak if he finds out you're here this late!'' Nathalie said, helping me up from her bed and dragged me out of her room.

''I'll make sure the assignment is finished for the both of us, your body needs all the rest it can get, c'mon hurry up!'' Nathalie said as she pushed me down the hall.

''Are you sure about the assignment? I really don't mind helping you out with the assignment.'' I said, earning a quick nod from Nathalie. ''I'll make it up to you somehow, I promise.'' I said as I walked down the stairs of her home.

''Aren't you forgetting something?'' Nathalie asked with a grin on her face. I raised my eyebrow at her, unsure what she meant. ''It pretty cold outside.'' She said, while handing me my t-shirt and hoodie (or what was left of it.). I quickly face-palmed and took my clothes, making Yi and Nathalie chuckle.

''Right, nearly forgot hehe.'' I said putting on the shirt and hoodie. Nathalie opened the door for me and gave me a worried look. ''What's up? Why the worried look?'' I asked with a smile.

Nathalie suddenly pulled my into a close hug for a moment. ''Please make it home safely, I don't feel like losing my best friend tonight.'' She whispered, she also murmured some other words under her breath but I couldn't make any of it. As Nathalie murmured something her grip around my waist tightened a bit.

''I will, I promise.'' I said rubbing her back a bit before leaving.

''She cares a lot more about you then you think.'' Yi voice came from my phone as we passed the playground where shit hit the fan a few hours ago.

''Oh, I know Yi, she hasn't really had it easy lately. Her dad is a workaholic and barely spends any time with her.'' I said with a sigh. ''Me and Nath used to hang out all the time when we were younger, but then school happened and we just didn't have the time to hang out anymore. I'm really happy she chose the same classes as me, that way we get to spend some time together again.'' I said smiling a bit.

* * *

When we got home from our short walk, it turned out to be really late. Emily and my mom had already gone to bed. _Lucky me, saves me a harsh talk with my mom…_

''It doesn't seem like home yet.'' I said, looking around the living room.

''You seem worried about it, what am I missing?'' Yi asked just above a whisper.

''He left two months ago to work on some robotics in Japan. His boss asked him to work together with another company, so he didn't really have choice but to cooperate.''

''Hmmm, seems like an important job.'' Yi said.

''Yeah, it's great whenever he's around although he is very busy.'' I said looking around the kitchen, smiling at a plate of leftovers laying around the kitchen.

''Let's not get sidetracked here, first lets search the house for traces of Zed breaking in. If he knows your name he might know your personal information.'' Yi said, stopping me from having something to eat.

''You got a point, but it doesn't seem like there's any signs of a break in. Everything is the same around the house, Yi I think you're overthinking this a bit.'' I whispered while looking around upstairs.

''You shouldn't let your guard down. Just go double check, please don't forget that Zed is an expert assassin, he is trained to leave no traces.'' Yi said with a hint of disgust in his voice at the mentioning of Zed's mastery.

''Aw c'mon let me eat those leftovers, Zed's not around. Pleaaaaaase Yi, I'm starving.'' I asked with an annoying voice.

''Hahaha, ofcourse Mark, eat your heart out.'' Yi said laughing.

I nearly ran into the kitchen, ready to eat the leftovers. My stomach growled at the sight of the food in the microwave. ''Man, that fight completely drained me…'' I said walking upstairs, eating from the plate filled with food.

''Now all I have to do is throw out these bloodied clothes I'm wearing before my mom or sister find out and get some clean ones.'' I said, taking my clothes off and hiding them deep inside my closet and putting on some pajama pants.

''So what are we going to do next?'' Yi asked a little curious.

''Well I feel like I'm about to fall over again, so I'm going to hit the hay pretty soon.'' I said finishing eating the leftovers. ''As for you, I'm going to put you on charge because my phone needs it.'' I said with a grin while putting my phone on my desk, charging.

''Har, har very funny, I meant what are we going to do about Zed?'' Yi said sarcastically

''I think there's only one thing we can do, train to face him again…'' I said thinking about what happened tonight. ''Wouldn't want to relive that moment again.''

''So next time we encounter him you want to be able to fight back?'' Yi said surprised

''Do I really have a choice? I mean Zed apparently knows me. It's only a matter of time until he shows up at my doorstep, ready to kill anything standing in his way.'' I said thinking about if that were to happen.

''I will teach you how to use the armor and how to use my combat abilities in combination with Wuju style.'' Yi assured me. ''Everything is going to be fine trust me.''

''Thanks Yi, I really appreciate you willing to teach me.'' I thanked him dearly. ''I really need to get some sleep, I hope you don't mind.'' I said turning off the lights in my room.

''Good night, Yi.''

''Good night, Mark.''

* * *

 **Authors note**

 **Hey guys, Emerald here! Hope you guys enjoyed the latest chapter of PROJECT Earth! I don't really have much to say for this authors note so let me say again, thanks for taking your time reading! I'll be coming at ya with two more chapters after the weekend, I got a week of vacation from school so I should have some time to get chapters four and five out! After that things are going to slow down a bit since the rest of the chapters are only in my head, drafted, and not written down. I also got a first real job ever so things might slow down even more because of that, but c'mon I need to be able to treat ma self from time to time right? Anywho until next time,**

 **Emerald out!**


	4. Chapter 4

PROJECT: earth

chapter 4: Tobias 

**(AN: Trying something different here, a different POV, there's gonna be more of these in the future. Just a heads up.)**

A hooded figure walked in the city. He looked like a young man who was up to no good, he had bags under his eyes like he hadn't slept in days. As he walked in the city he thought of what he was going to tell his boss, he had failed his mission and the boss was going to be displeased, he was sure of that.

When the man approached a large building in the city he took large breaths, preparing him for the uncomfortable talk he was going to have. He took the elevator to one of the higher levels of the building, where he was greeted by a little waiting room with large comfortable chairs and a small desk with a receptionist behind it. He took a seat in one of the chairs, waiting for his boss to see him.

''Ah Tobias, We were awaiting your return, you're being expected.'' A woman said sitting behind a small desk right next to a large door which led to his boss.

Tobias could only nod towards the woman, not because he wasn't in the mood to talk, but because he was anxious, he wasn't completely sure how he was going to be punished for failing the simple task he had been given.

''He'll be seeing you now Tobias.'' The woman said. Tobias shot up, he didn't notice the woman standing next to him.

Tobias let out a bored sigh and stood up, not sure how he was going to bring the bad news to his boss, he did know de man wasn't going to be happy and was most likely going to have him killed and replace him.

The woman signaled Tobias to wait, while she walked up to the man sitting behind a huge desk and whispered something into his ear. When the woman finished, she was ordered to leave Tobias with him. She obeyed and left the two alone in the dark office.

There was a long pause before the mystery man spoke up.

''Tobias, judging by the fact that you don't have my device. You failed, yes?'' Tobias could only stand in silence, staring at the floor.

''Godsdammit, Tobias!'' The man yelled. ''I give you all this power, and you are not able to get a simple device from a boy who is unarmed?!'' The man's hand slammed into his desk, leaving a big fist shape mark in the desk. The man's voice turned back to a calm state before continuing.

''I suppose you were too late to get the device from the boy before he activated it?'' the man was getting impatient tapping his finger into the desk. ''I need the tech from that armor Tobias, without it I can't continue my plan, and without it, you won't get what you want either.'' The man voice showed signs of anger again.

''Sir, in my defense barely any of its memory was wiped, the program knew how to protect the boy. They connected on the spot. What took me weeks to pull off the boy did in seconds.'' Tobias nearly screamed in his defense.

''You imbecile! I've told you many times before that this isn't a program you're fighting, it is the Wuju blademaster himself forced out of his physical form. If he gets the chance to teach the boy how to use his powers my plan is doomed.'' The man screamed, slamming his fist into the desk again. ''Because of your failure, I am forced to activate yet another set of assets.'' The man told him.

''But I am going to need you for something else. You are going to be an excellent little pawn in my game.'' The contractor said before bursting out into an evil laugh.

When finished he looked at Tobias. ''I want you to report downstairs immediately and don't forget to put on your armor. The scientists in my lab can repair it and update the combat software so you may have a fighting chance at the capturing the blademaster.'' The man told Tobias with an evil tone to his voice.

''Yes sir.'' Tobias muttered before leaving the office and taking the elevator in the lobby to the labs. 

* * *

As Tobias entered the lab wearing his assigned armor, one of the scientists approached him. ''Ah Tobias our finest creation. What can I do for you?'' the man asked.

''I was ordered to report here by the boss, something about new tricks and repairs.'' Tobias said while sharpening the blades on his armor.

''Ah I know what the boss wanted me to do, but you're not going to like it.'' The man said not sure how Tobias would react.

''Out with it.'' Tobias growled in a annoyed tone.

''Boss wants the data from last night. Which is stored inside the armor's memory that's connected to your brain, meaning we will have to poke around in your brain. The good news is that while you're unconscious my team can start repairing your armor and upload the data we have gathered on the Wuju blademaster so you can take a second shot at taking out your target in no time.'' The scientist said with a smile on his face.

Tobias flinched at the idea of scientists poking around in his brain, but he had failed his boss once and he had no choice but to cooperate. It was either have the data taken from his brain and move on from his failure or lose everything he had to live for.

Tobias followed the scientist into the lab where he was introduced to his armor and all its powers. The only thing different this time was a chair in the room hooked up to some computers which where mend for the data transfer. ''Take a seat when ready Tobias. We'll have you sedated within seconds.'' The scientist assured him.

After Tobias had taken a seat in the chair, a few needles where stung into his arms straight through the armor and after a few seconds he could see everything getting cloudy, like a dark mist was filling the room. His whole body just shut down, like it gave control to someone or something else. First he couldn't move his arms and legs, then he began to dose off. His eyes were getting heavy and then he saw it, a large shadow with red eyes right before him. It was trying to take control of him again. Everytime he tried to rest, this happened. A shadow would appear, it was always there, lurking in the darkness. Tobias always fought it, but with the sedatives starting to kick in, he couldn't anymore. The shadows hand grabbed him by his shoulders and pulled Tobias closer to him, until Tobias could hear the shadows ragged breaths. ''Embrace the shadows, it's the path toward ultimate power my dear host.'' Was all it muttered, over and over again. Until Tobias couldn't fight it anymore, he was to tired. ''Good'' was all Tobias could hear before giving into the shadows chanting. 

* * *

''How did you get it out of there?'' The mysterious man asked, stalking closer to a holding cell hidden inside his building. In the cell a man was sitting on the bed.

''I don't know what you're talking about. You send me to check out some of the company's prototypes, to fix the mistakes that the engineers there had made, to make them combat ready. I never took anything.'' The man in the cell said.

''Hmpf, have it your way.'' The mystery man said shaking his head and walking into the cell grabbing the man and throwing him across the cell. ''I'll make you remember.'' The mystery man said, his eyes glowing a bright red with anger.

While torturing the man in the cell he repeated the same thing over and over again: ''PROJECT activation complete, PROJECT Yi download complete.'' But the man never broke.

After 40 minutes of torture the mystery man stopped. '' Still got nothing to say? Guess we'll continue our little chat again tomorrow but remember this, The longer it takes for you to give me the answers I want, the worse it'll get. With that the mystery man left the cell, leaving the man inside beaten and bloodied. 

* * *

**(AN : back to Mark's POV. :P)**

The next morning I woke up to the sound of my alarm clock. After rubbing my eyes a couple of times I got up. Strangely enough my wounds from last night were almost fully healed, I decided it was best to let the bandages on for one more day just in case. I took a look in my closet and took out a black t-shirt, a pair of brown pants and a checkered jacket, while putting my clothes on I noticed the bloodied clothes in the corner of my closet. ''Right, I gotta take care of these after school today.'' I thought to myself as I took my bag and Yi with me, he hadn't talked to me yet.

''Must be sleeping.'' I said to myself not noticing I was walking in the kitchen. Freaking auto pilot man.

''Who?'' Emily asked. This snapped me out of my auto pilot.

''Oh ah.. Nathalie.'' I lied hoping Emily would drop the subject.

''Not really her style to be late, maybe she's sick or maybe she's finally done with your dumb ass.'' Emily said before taking a sip from her juice.

''I'm not having this argument with you right now, I'm way to groggy for this.'' I said grabbing a quick sandwich before school. ''Anyway I'm gonna be home a bit later than normal, I'm helping Nath with some stuff for school, so don't wait on me for dinner, I'll manage.'' I said patting Emily on the head before heading off towards the train station.

On my way to the station I didn't notice Nathalie had caught up to me and was walking right next to me, mostly because she was just as sleepy as I was. After we boarded the train I noticed she had fallen asleep again, resting her head on my shoulder.

''Hey sleepyhead, wake up. We need to get off soon,'' I said letting out a big yawn.

''Mornin.'' She replied stretching her arms.

''Did you get enough sleep last night?'' I asked Nathalie who was trying her best to wake up.

''The assignment really was mend for two people, Goodson wasn't kidding. I should have kept you at my place to help me with it.'' She said taking out a hairbrush from her bag and started brushing her hair. ''Anyway, how are you feeling? You looked like hell last night.'' She asked

''I'll live. It seems the meditation has a lasting effect or something, the wounds are almost fully healed.'' I said while taking a look at my phone. ''Yi hasn't said anything since yesterday evening, he must still be sleeping. Lucky guy gets to sleep late I guess.'' I said before being interrupted by the blademaster.

''I Heard that.'' He said. ''I wasn't sleeping, I was meditating. It also occurred to me that it wouldn't be a smart idea to start talk to you while you walked into the kitchen where your sister was having breakfast or when you both were waiting on the train since there was a bunch of people around.'' Yi said.

''You are a lot more observant then us, Yi. It's great to hear your voice again.'' Nathalie said laughing a little at the small outburst from the blademaster.

''Yi and I talked a little after we got home yesterday and decided it's probably the best if I learned how to use the armor just in case Zed shows up again.'' I said. ''Only problem is we don't have a place to train yet. Maybe you can come up with a place?'' I asked Nathalie

''I actually do, I'll show you the spot after school. I'd love to see you two in action.'' Nathalie said with tons of excitement in her voice.

''We'll talk about it later. This is our stop.'' I said as the train came to a hold.

''I will remain quiet until we head there. Maybe I can actually get some sleep without Mark's snoring keeping me up all night.'' Yi joked earning him a giggle from Nathalie. 

* * *

After one of the longest days of school ever. Nathalie took us to a small forest near our little town. The forest was about a fifteen minute walk from Nathalie's house.

''The forest itself isn't very special but not many people go near it because of some urban legend. Which means no distractions or unwanted visitors.'' Nathalie said proudly.

We found a nice closed off spot where I could learn to use the armor and how to use different sword techniques from Yi. He would guide from inside the helmet's HUD and by correcting my body through the armor. We used a couple of small trees as alpha strike targets so I could hit more than one target at a time. It took a while for me to hit multiple targets, after all it was only my first time actually trying to hit more than one target. As for meditation, not much was required, I needed to shift my focus from fighting to healing. This would create a protective barrier around me which protected me from incoming attacks and heal me in the process, now if only I could work on the landing it would have been perfect.

About an hour had past and I was starting to get the hang of Yi's abilities, such as meditate and alpha strike which I performed sloppily the night before.

''The usage of the abilities would normally cost mana but such a thing doesn't exists in this universe. I guess you could compare it to the usage of energy like Shen, Akali and Kennen, without the rapid regenerating part. If you run out of energy in a fight it would mean that you can't use any more abilities in that fight. Yi explained to me and Nathalie. ''You are improving compared to last night though.'' Yi also complimented.

''Thank you Yi, it's an honor to have you as a teacher.'' I thanked him.

''One last alpha strike to convince me you've earned your rest for today.'' Yi said with a stern voice. I did as I was instructed and focused on the trees with multiple cuts in them already, some had more cuts then others since I got off target a couple of times. I jumped forward and disappeared for les then a second and reappearing multiple times, each time striking a different tree before reappearing next to my original target.

''You're getting the hang of it now Mark.'' Nathalie said giving me a small applause, after I created six deep cuts in the trees.

''You're right Nathalie, he is doing much better'' Yi's voice could be heard coming from the armor. The armor was connected with Yi which led to Yi being able to use it for speech just like how he used my phone to speak.

''We should be going home soon, or else my mom is going to think I'm doing more than just homework at your place Nath.'' I joked as Yi and I defused. It was kinda weird how the armor just went up in thin air, but Yi assured me it was stored in a save space.

''Can you be serious for like more than ten minutes, and not crack stupid jokes all the time?'' Nathalie asked rather annoyed.

''Jeez, sorry Nath. I'll be super cereal about everything from now on. Will that make you happy?'' I asked her, making a silly face.

''You are such a child sometimes. All this crazy shit going down and you're joking as always. Last night you were unconscious on my bed nearly bleeding to death.'' Nathalie said, giving me a shove.

''Oh come on, it's not like you are serious all the time, as I recall someone was enjoying her view yesterday evening a little to much when cleaning my wounds. I guess working out really worked in my favor didn't it?'' I said winking at Nathalie.

''You are unbelievable.'' Nathalie said with a slight crimson tint on her face as she walked home.

''I'll never understand her.'' Was all I said before jogging after her to tell her I was just kidding. Earning a small snicker from Yi. 

* * *

**Authors note.**

 **Hey guys, Emerald here. Remember when I said there was going to be two chapters out this week? Yeaaaah…. me neither hehe. I kinda got sidetracked. My internship offered me a job so that took a few days to set up, as for the rest of my days… I was busy. I mean come on URF is back and there was the Ghost Recon beta. Anyway thanks for all the people that reviewed, followed and favorited the story it really makes me want to get more chapters out! If you guys have any suggestions/questions about the story I'll do my best to answer them**

 **Until next time Emerald out.**


	5. Chapter 5

PROJECT: earth

Chapter 5: Mystery savior

A few days had passed and my training was going great. Yi was teaching me more every day. He had shown me some old data stored away in the armors memory, which were some recordings of him sparring with Fiora and fighting security drones. Yi had tried to teach me how to use Wuju style his third ability but it needed more time, I could only keep it up for one or two swings before the blade would change back to its original form.

Yi had decided I could use a break from all the training we had been doing so I could make it up to Nathalie for what I said last time. She really wasn't happy with the comment so I decided I'd take her to her favorite coffee shop in the city it was weekend anyway so we'd meet up in the city, but I got a little sidetracked on my way to meet her…

''We were supposed to meet Nathalie in the main street'' Yi said a little annoyed.

''I know we were supposed to meet her at the main street coffee shop down that road. I know how to get there. It's not my first time in the city you know?'' I pointed out a little annoyed back.

''Then why are we like ten blocks away from our destination?'' Yi asked, this time with even more annoyance than before he wouldn't be sassed by his student. Yea he saw me as his student, how awesome is that?

''Well I wanted to check out some new games that came out this week. Anyway it's not like I've never had to wait on Nath, I wouldn't be surprised if we get there before she does.'' I argued with Yi. Before our argument could escalate we were interrupted by an alarm.

''What is the meaning of this?'' Yi asked.

''If I had to guess, it's an alarm coming from the main street bank. There have been multiple robberies all around the city states, huge sums of money get stolen and there's never a trace.'' I explained to Yi.

''Hmm sounds like a case of magic won't you say?'' Yi said. Giving me an great idea.

''How about we take a look, if you're right about the magic this is going to be a great test to see how much I've learned and if you're wrong this is going to be a walk in the park.'' I said with a grin on my face. I was so ready to be the city's hero.

''That's not such a bad idea, but what if they are from my world? You'll be in great danger. Imagine if they also have a PROJECT armor.'' Yi said.

''Well then it's our job to stop him or her, that was the plan wasn't it? Train me to be fight, take out all other PROJECT users and get you guys home?'' I wasn't going to take no for an answer already walking into an alleyway, ready to use the armor.

''Hmpf, seems I've got no choice but to agree to this plan.'' Yi said while fusing me with his armor. ''You get to do this, on one condition. You'll train even harder than before.'' Yi said.

''Deal.'' I said dashing of towards the origin of the alarm.

* * *

I was right about the main street bank. It was already surrounded by multiple police cars and vans. They couldn't have been here for a long time, because the cops were busy holding people back who wanted to take a closer look at what was happening. Atleast the police was distracted, that way I could find a way into the bank. Obviously the front door wasn't going to be an option and neither were any of the other doors.

''I guess our only way in is the roof. I mean it's not like the cops are just going to let us walk in.'' I said still trying to figure a way into the bank without bringing any possible hostages in danger.

''How are we going to enter from the roof? I don't see a glass roof. My blade can cut through a lot Mark but it can't cut through a roof.'' Yi said even more puzzled with my comment.

''Trust me on this one.'' I told Yi as I made my way toward a building which was being renovated.

''I don't think I like this idea of yours.'' Yi said uncertain of what was going to happen.

At this point I wasn't even listening to Yi, he didn't have a clue on how to get into the bank and this might be our only shot. My plan wasn't the best of plans but it'll have to do. I climbed the construction ladder up until I reached the roof of the building and got a good look.

''Hmm we should be able to make the jump from here. Yi you think you can give me a boost when I jump?'' I asked thinking if this was going to end right.

''Do I have a choice?'' he asked a little sarcastic.

''Nope, well here goes nothing.'' I took a few steps back until I hit the other side of the roof. Ran is fast as I could and jumped off the roof. Yi had given a slight boost empowering the armor with his power which made it easier to jump a bit higher and further. I barely made the jump, hitting the roof (hard) and rolling a couple of times. I mean the jump was a ten outta ten but the landing could have been better. _Now where have I heard that one before?_

''We made it? We made it wohooo!'' I screamed throwing my hands into the air. ''Who's the best? I am!''

''Are you done celebrating your idiotic plan? There's still bank robbers to catch and hostages to rescue.'' Yi said unamused. ''Not to mention, yes we are on the roof but what now? How are we going to get in?

''I walked up to a white panel on the roof. This stuff shouldn't be so hard to cut through.'' I took out my sword and cut an X shape into the panel. ''Here goes. From here on its full recon mode.'' I took a small leap onto the panel, shattering it. I fell into a really fancy looking office.

''How did you know you would be able to cut straight through, let alone that there panels where on the roof?'' Yi asked.

''I'll tell you later, we've got some bad guys to catch.

* * *

I made my way deeper into the bank until I could hear voices. _I must be getting closer to the main lobby..._ I was on the second floor of the bank, which were mostly conference rooms. The main floor was most likely occupied by the robbers and their hostages. I sneaked out of the fancy office until I saw a spiral staircase. Quickly taking a peek over the railing I saw three armed men and these guys weren't your average bank robbers from the movies, these guys were the real deal. They most likely had military training and were armed to the bone. What stood out the most were their masks. It looked like a sort of Kevlar ballistic mask, all three man had a smile drawn on their masks. Just then another robber showed up. This guys mask was completely different from the other three. This guy had a way more advanced headgear which likely offered more protection from bullets, too bad for him that my sword wasn't a bullet.

''Keep em calm until T is done with the exothermic explosives. That shit will burn straight through that vault.'' The guy with the unique mask said.

''You sure those Japanese charges will do the job, boss? I mean I don't question T but this contractor just gave us everything we needed to pull this off, no questions asked.'' One of the three asked him.

''I know what you mean but the stuff this guy has been supplying is insane, not to mention the pay of is great.'' The boss said taking out a cell phone putting it on speaker. ''We're listening, what you got T?'' he asked

''Got everything rigged up boss, a big fucking hole ready to be made. Waiting on you.'' The guy on the other side of the line said most likely this T person.

''I'll be right down. Don't blow it open before I'm there.'' He said while adding a little extra seriousness to the ''Don't'' part.

''So there's most likely five of them. One explosive expert, three goons to handle the hostages and a leader. Shouldn't be too hard.'' I said to myself.

After the boss left the room I prepared to strike. I took a seat on the railing (Just like a curtain merc with a mouth.) and started to talk to the three goons.

''You know, robbing a bank and taking hostages is kinda cliché and old fashioned. It's all about hacking bank accounts and extortion nowadays.'' I said letting my sword float behind me. (AN: Yea project Yi's sword floats apparently? I noticed when one of my friends meditated in a league game, so I kinda wanted to use that.)

Ofcourse they all turned around weapons drawn and aimed at me. ''Who the fuck are you and what the fuck do you want?'' one of them asked

''Well, Mr. potty mouth, I'm… I'm… S _hit didn't think this thing through…_ I'm Yi and I'm here to save those people and to kick your asses.'' I said taking my sword in one hand and dropping down inside the lobby. The three guys started to laugh.

''So you're the guy the boss was warned about.'' One of the men said.

''You're going to stop us? With a sword? Riiiiight.'' Another said.

''Ok, that's it, time to die hero.'' The last one said firing a couple rounds towards me followed by the other two men. I anticipated the shots and narrowly dodged them by ducking behind a couch inside the lobby. _A little to close for my taste..._

''Where are your clever comments now eh? One of the men called out.

''Can't really talk when I'm counting your bullets.'' I said jumping out of cover. All three of them ran out of ammo, bunch of idiots started firing at the same time, all with the same type of gun. I tried closing the gap between the four of us but I was stopped when one of the men pulled a pistol and put it against one of the hostage' head.

''You better stop running or else this little birdie gets her head blown off.'' He said.

Not really having another choice I stopped my advance. As I watched the other two robbers reload their guns and aimed them at me once again.

''Now where did that get you hero? Like five steps closer to us? Pretty clever counting our bullets, didn't expect that from a wannabe hero.'' The man with the pistol said laughing a little.

''Five steps is all I needed to take care of you three.'' I said.

''Sure you do, hero.'' The man said, signaling the other two to kill me.

Right before the two were going to shoot me, I protected myself with meditate. The barrier around me soaked up all the bullets fired my way. It was kinda funny to watch, I was sitting in mid-air, blade floating behind me, the barrier was clearly blocking every bullet yet these idiots kept on shooting.

The moment they ran out of bullets I used alpha strike to close the remaining gap between me and the three robbers. By using the guy with the hostage as my first target I would reappear next to him giving me a moment to save the hostage. The moment I got out of alpha strike I cut off the barrel of the pistol rendering it useless before punching the guy in the face with full force away from the hostages.

''Drop your weapons or you two will end up the same way.'' I said pointing my sword at the other two men. They dropped their weapons in defeat. I ordered them to pick up Mr. potty mouth and tied them up with some of the stuff they used to tie the hostages before actually freeing the hostages.

''Well? Go on you're save. Get out before the other two get back.'' I told them as they quickly left the building. _Now to get the other two…_

''The vault is downstairs'' I heard a voice behind me say. The voice belonged to an older looking man. ''I can't thank you enough for saving us. You saved my life and my bank.'' The man said.

''It's no problem sir, please get to a safe distance I don't know if these guys have traps set.'' I said looking around if I had forgotten any hostages.

''They already blew up the parking garage outside so the police can't enter that way but it makes no sense, they have no way out.'' The bank director said while taking his leave.

''that's good to know sir. Makes it easier for me to catch these guys.'' I said cracking my knuckles at the thought of catching these guys. I was about to sneak towards the vault when a huge explosion made the whole building shake. _Shit they got into the vault._

When I got to the vault I couldn't believe my eyes. It looked like the vault door's hinges were molten and blown clean off. The two remaining robbers took notice of me. The leader of the group took out some sort of grenade.

''He warned me about you.'' The leader said as he threw the grenade into the piles of money that they had been gathering while I dealt with the other three men. When the grenade went off it created a giant blue portal similar to one of Ryze' portals. The portal's swirling began to reach its peak when it started to suck more piles of cash into it. I tried to advance to stop them when the leader took the launcher from the other man and fired four pallets in front of me and detonated them. First the pallets began to smoke heavily creating a red mist inside the vault before exploding, stopping me in my tracks.

''But don't worry you won't leave empty handed kiddo, we got one last surprise for you.'' The leader said pulling up a part of his mask and let out a loud whistle. I threw my sword at him like a javelin trying to pin him inside the vault. (no I didn't aim to kill.) Instead of hitting the man I hit the launcher he had on him pinning that to the wall.

''Better luck next time kiddo.'' He said flipping me off. Right before the portal closed. _Damn… they got way_. I walked to where the portal grenade detonated inspecting the area.

''No traces… I guess you were right Yi, these guys did have some magic up their sleeves.'' I said a little disappointed.

''Indeed, those where hextech portal grenades. Created by Jayce with the help of Ryze and Viktor.'' Yi said puzzled.

''Wait you're telling me those two worked together on something? Jayce working together with his archnemesis?'' I said.

''Yes it surprised most of us at the institute aswell. Jayce said Viktor couldn't kill him unless it was on the fields so they worked together on multiple projects such as this.'' Yi told while I was busy inspecting the pallet launcher I had pinned to the wall. Luckily it wasn't broken.

''And this? You know what this is, Yi?'' I asked

''That isn't from my world, maybe it's an experimental weapon?'' He said not sure what the launcher was.

''Well better hand this over to the police for evidence.'' I said taking the launcher and making my way back above ground. When I entered the lobby I noticed that the police hadn't swarmed the building yet. _Something's off, this doesn't feel right..._ That's when a figure jumped down from the second floor. The smoke from the pallets had also made its way above ground making it hard to see. I could see a faint purple glow.

''It can't be…'' I heard Yi mutter. ''Fiora! Thank goodness you're ok!'' Yi yelled.

''Hmpf, mission nearly failed because of you two.'' She said, strangely enough without her heavy French accent. ''Prepare to die'' She said pointing her sword at Me.

''You've got to be…'' I was interrupted by Fiora who dashed forward. I blocked her assault with my blade. Fiora anticipated the block and broke my defenses with a swift kick to my side before dashing past me, hitting me in my back leaving a thin cut. After striking she took a defensive stance blocking my counterattack. What she wasn't expecting was me using alpha strike right after the counterattack. She was my only target so the strike would be finished early. The moment I would connect my blade in alpha, Fiora used her riposte to parry my ability, hitting me again this time in my side. Fiora dashed once again trying to strike me on a different position. This time I was prepared and dodged the attack. Fiora dashed a little further away from me. When she turned around she had an unamused look on her face.

''Yeah that's right, training wheels are off now.'' I said with a smirk. I noticed Fiora was panting a little. _She must be using a lot more energy than I am with all the dashing around._

''You're right, no more playing.'' She said, lunging forward. I dodged her attack again. I tried hitting her in the back but Fiora had turned around mid-dash. Our swords locked together sending sparks flying around the blades. Fiora had a smirk on face. I noticed her sword was glowing.

''Neat trick, guess what? I can do that too.'' I said as I used Wuju style making the blade glow blue with energy for a moment. With the damage boost I could put more pressure on our blades. Knocking Fiora off balance. _This is my chance..._ I closed distance between us with alpha strike, making a cut in her armor. Right afterwards Fiora tried to slash at me with her sword. I rolled under her blade past her, kicking her off her feet.

''Who's laughing now?'' I taunted.

''Hmpf, so cocky. This duel isn't over yet.'' Fiora said getting back on her feet. ''I guess I have no other choice.'' Fiora her visor began to glow brighter. _Oh shit is that what I think it is?_ She charged me, lunging at the last moment past me hitting me in the back. An extreme pain was send through my body, bringing me off balance. _That's one vital down..._ Before I could react, Fiora was already lunging at my side, hitting what I guessed was another vital because the pain got worse. I slashed at her with my sword, clasping my side with my other hand. My plan worked, Fiora was forced away from me but the pain in my side was too much as I fell to my knees.

''Yep, definitely what I thought it was.'' I said trough gritted teeth.

'''My master will be happy to know you are dealt with.'' Fiora said bringing her sword to my neck. _She's panting heavily,_ _she can't do much more, but I can't either._ Fiora pulled her sword back ready to impale my face. I closed my eyes. _Goodbye cruel world, it was a nice ride._

* * *

When I opened my eyes, Fiora's blade was inches away from my face. I tried moving away from it but I couldn't move my body, and neither could she apparently. It seemed like time had stopped around us. _You can't be serious..._ I felt a hand on my shoulder.

''Don't worry, I got you.'' A feminine voice said. ''This is going to feel weird but trust me, you'll feel better afterwards.'' The voice said right before everything began to turn backwards, Fiora was moving around me once again but this time, she moved backwards? The more time got rewinded the less pain I felt from the vital spots Fiora had struck earlier. Time began to move forward again right at the moment where Fiora used her visor. This time she took out a hextech grenade dropping it underneath her feet opening a portal.

''Next time we meet, I'll make sure you won't have any help.'' She said before leaving through the portal.

''What just happened?'' I said aloud.

''I rewinded our time, saving your ass.'' The feminine voice said. I traced the voice back to a young woman standing behind me. She wore Ekko's PROJECT armor, including the Z-drive and baton, she looked almost identical to Ekko, the only difference was her long platinum blonde hair which went over her shoulders. _I guess when we fuse our hair color changes to the color of our champion's hair…_

''PROJECT Ekko I suppose?'' I said getting back on my feet, catching my breath.

''Hmm, yea I'm linked to Ekko. He taught me how to fight using the Z-drive and his other gadgets'' The woman said inspecting her Z-drive.

''Thank you for saving my life. I was gonna get some coffee with a friend later, you wanna come with? My treat.'' I said giving the woman a formal bow.

''Listen here, I'm not interested in your life and I certainly don't want to get to know you better, it will only bring the people I care about in more danger then they already are.'' She said taking the weapon I took from one of the robbers. ''You got the experimental Kairos back, guess you're good for something.'' She said taking the weapon and walking up the stairs.

''Guess I won't have to count on you next time I'm in trouble?'' I asked following the woman, she kept on walking, completely ignoring me. ''Oh come on! Atleast tell me your name, this is way to awkward. Look I'll start if it makes you comfortable. My name is Mark, now tell me yours.'' The girl kept on walking until she came across the hole in the roof I made.

''Ok, listen Mark. My name is Alisha and first off all, the only reason I came to help was because it's my duty, not because I wanted to. Second off all the reason I was around was because I was spending some time on vacation, thanks for ruining it by the way.'' She said annoyed while climbing out of the bank, onto the roof.

''Your duty? Do you do this stuff full time or something? Alisha? Hello?'' When I climbed onto the roof Alisha had vanished without a trace. _Ofcourse everyone fused with a champion is a goddamn ninja._ ''I guess we better get the hell out of here aswell.'' I said to myself quickly taking my leave and heading towards the coffee place I was supposed to meet Nathalie an hour ago.

* * *

''You got to be kidding. You met other people like you?!'' Nathalie got way to exited when I told her about the whole Ekko thing. ''What was she like? Was she taller then you? Did she also have a sword?'' Nathalie's barrage of questions hit me once again. _Goodness here we go again with all the questions._

''Nath can you stop yelling, people are staring at us. People might think we're crazy.'' I tried calming her down. Like that's going to help…

''Well at least show me what this mystery woman looks like Mark.'' She said while taking a bite from her cheesecake.

Yi had already opened a website on my phone which showed some pictures of the boy who shattered time on the rift, some of him using abilities ingame and some were fanart of him and some were just a big nope featuring a curtain gun crazed criminal.

As I slid my phone over to Nathalie I pointed out a picture of Ekko's project skin. ''This is what she looked like.'' As Nathalie examined the picture, Yi opened the Project DISRUPTION video Riot had made to tease the skins, as he and Nathalie watched the footage, Yi pointed out some stuff to Nathalie. I went and paid for the coffee and cake so I wouldn't forget about it later. When paying for the food I had a weird gut feeling, like someone was watching me. I looked around me a couple of times before shrugging off the feeling and returned to our table.

''You never told me that Zed looked so scary.'' Nathalie pointed at the paused screen with Zed in the middle. Nathalie was now watching the PROJECT overdrive video. ''You told me he wore a red suit with a mask.'' She said trying to look angry.

''That's because this version of Zed is different. It's like an alternate version of him.'' I tried to explain as we left the coffee place and into the cold winter afternoon heading towards the train station.

''Well you could have told me sooner, I've been looking out for a man in red stalking us but he apparently doesn't even exists.''

''Anymore.'' Yi corrected her. ''The only reason Zed joined the PROJECT experiment was for power. You see, the poor man has always been consumed by his hunger for power, which eventually made him one of Ionia's most wanted criminals.'' Yi explained.

''We don't even know if Zed, Fiora or Ekko are even conscious like you are Yi.'' I said. ''We don't even know if Zed or the rest of the champions are even alive like you are.''

''The more questions get answered the more will pop up.'' Yi said with a sad tone.

''All this talking about questions reminded me of something Mark, tomorrow we're going on one of Mr. Goodson's special field trips.'' Nathalie said filled with excitement.

''What 'special' fieldtrip? You mean the ones where he picks a dusty old museum to visit and force everyone to come along?'' Nathalie could hear the sarcasm dripping from my words, she knew I was joking but she couldn't appreciate the joke, not this time.

''You haven't been paying attention in class again have you? Goodson said he was taking us to the biggest one in the city, the one with the fossils and the animals and paintings and….'' Nathalie was interrupted by my hand covering her mouth.

''We get it nerd, you like things that have been dead for a long time or were made by a dead guy.'' I said with a large grin. My grin was gone almost instantly when I felt Nathalie biting one of my fingers.

''That's what you get for interrupting a lady.'' She said. Before we both started laughing.

''And I'll have you know I only like the museum because I get to take pictures of everything.'' Nathalie said, striking some kind of pose an artist would make.

''Yeah whatever miss artiest, I'm going home. I'll see you Monday.'' I said as I walked towards the train.

''Hey! Wait for me!'' Nathalie screamed running after me.

* * *

 **Hey guys, Emerald here, bringing you guys another chapter of PROJECT: earth. I hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Longest chapter yet wohooo! :D Horizon zero dawn came out a couple of days ago and I'm really struggling to not play it too much so I can still bring you guys the chapters atleast once a week. Don't worry I like writing these chapters to much to give up on the fic now, but tend to get distracted with games, school and work like every other person… I've also tried something new this chapter I thought it would be nice if I put thoughts in cursive, because I think it makes it easier to recognize. Give me your thoughts on the fic in the comments/review (I love feedback on my story) and follow for a headsup when the next chapter goes up! (You never know if I get creative!). Cookie for anyone who got the references this chapter :DD. One last thing, the mask the leader was wearing can be compared to a armored Ronin tactical mask. I wasn't sure how to explain that... :c Until next time,**

 **Emerald out!**


	6. Chapter 6

PROJECT: earth

Chapter 6: Fieldtrip

After our rather 'interesting' afternoon in the city, Nathalie and I got home a little later then we intended. Ofcourse that tends to happen when a bank robbery holds up fifty percent of your afternoon. The fight with Fiora had left me exhausted and the whole rewinding time part wasn't helping either. The pain from the vitals that Fiora hit in our duel hurt like hell even if they were healed. Nathalie seemed worried about me, even after I assured her I was fine. I made another comment how she just used it as an excuse to look at my body again and boy, did she appreciate that one. After a soft nudge in my side (Nath knew I was in pain, so she held back a little) and a quick hug

we parted ways. Everything seemed fine until I got home, where I was assaulted by my mom.

''Where have you been? I was worried sick!'' she said, hugging me.

''I was in the city with Nathalie, we had some coffee and caught up a little, did I forget to tell you?'' I asked a bit confused. _I mean sure I forget some stuff now and then but I'm sure I told her._

''Nah, she knew. Mom's just worried something had happened to you, since there was a bank robbery and all that.'' Emily called from inside the living room.

''How do you guys know? It happened like a couple of hours ago.'' I asked following my mom into the living room.

''Well… See for yourself and be amazed by what happened.'' Emily said turning on the TV.

''League of legends, just a game adored by millions of people or is there more to the game that we don't know of. This afternoon another bank was robbed with almost no traces left behind but this time three out of five men were captured by a mysterious vigilantly.'' The anchorwoman said.

''You might be wondering what a video game has to do with a bank robbery. Here's what. One of our camera drones was able to get some footage inside the bank after the hostages were rescued.'' The other anchorwoman said as the footage showed me and Fiora fighting until suddenly the footage goes dark. _Must have been Alisha with her parallel convergence destroying the drone._

''The mysterious figures in the footage have been identified as character from the popular video game come to life. Some would say there people are wearing costumes but witnesses say otherwise. Riot games the company behind the video game has yet to make a statement.'' The anchorwoman said.

''Only here do we have interviews with some of the hostages who were rescued by the mysterious hero.'' The other anchorwoman said. Before I could watch the rest, Emily turned off the TV.

''Pretty neat huh?'' Emily said with a smile.

''Is it? What if your brother got hurt badly? Would it have been neat then?'' Mom asked Emily.

''Mom, I'm fine. I was nowhere near the bank. Please don't act so weird.'' I said dropping down into a chair with a groan.

''Are you feeling ok, sweetie? You've been coming home tired lately. You aren't getting sick are you?'' My mom asked. She wasn't wrong about that. Yi really was wearing me out with his training. And after what happened today, I sure as hell could use some sleep.

''I'm not getting sick mom, I'm just tired so I think I'm heading to bed.'' I half lied.

''If I had to guess, you caught migraine from making out with Nathalie, I mean you're spending a lot of time with her lately. Or is it that you're fooling around with her at night?'' Emily said with a evil smirk.

''You can't get migraine from someone who doesn't have it idiot. And no I'm not seeing Nathalie that way.'' I said a little annoyed. _It's not like you would mind._ Yi said telepathically to me. _I didn't ask for tips on my love life, Yi._ I shot back, the only reaction I got back was snorts and laughs from Yi.

''Mark? Mark? Hello? Earth to Mark? You heading to bed or are you watching some more news with me?'' Emily said pulling me out of my telepathic conversation.

''Hmm? Ah yea, I'll watch some more on the subject later. I'm heading to bed.'' I said yawning and stretching my arms. Once in my bedroom, I put Yi on charge and put him next to me before changing into my pajama pants and old t-shirt. The moment my head touched the pillow, I fell asleep.

* * *

''Yi! Help! I can't hold them back!'' A voice called out to me. I looked around, I wasn't home any more, I was on a battlefield. Dead bodies lay all around me, dead bodies belonging to soldiers and civilians. Between some of the bodies were machine carcasses with were either sliced apart, had bullet holes in them or were straight up melting. I searched for the source of the voice looking for the person. Then I saw her. Karma, fending off multiple machines. She had a bunch of wounds all over her body, she could barely stand up straight. She blew up the last of the machines cornering her and called out again, putting her hand forward, wanting me to grab it.

''Yi, thank god you're ok. I thought you were dead.'' She called out to me with tears of happiness in her eyes.

I walked closer to her, trying to take her hand. The image got blurry and started to distort. Suddenly everything changed. The battlefield changed into a skyscraper, the bodies disappeared, the machines around us disappeared and most importantly Karma changed into Nathalie holding on to the edge.

''Mark! Help me! My hand is slipping!'' She called out.

I ran up to her, catching her right before she fell. Behind me I heard laughs. When I turned around I saw Zed and Fiora. ''Mission accomplished'' Fiora said, pushing me and Nathalie off the building. I was suddenly in the PROJECT armor, shielding Nathalie from the impact from the fall. We landed on the ground below. I couldn't feel anything but my vision began to blur, the last thing I saw was Nathalie her hands stained with what I guessed was my blood, her eyes filled with tears, those beautiful eyes… I let out my last breath before I died in her arms.

* * *

Everything began to distort again, waking me from my nightmares. I was sitting straight up in my bed, sweating and panting heavily. I checked my phone and noticed I got a couple of messages from Nathalie.

''You up?''

''Hello?''

''Did you see the news? You're a hit! ;D''

''DON'T IGNORE ME _ ''

 _She really doesn't have any patience._

''Yea I saw it. Thank god they didn't catch my name. :O'' I texted back, hoping Nathalie wasn't sleeping.

''YOU DICK! Why u ignore mehhh?''

''I was asleep?''

''Sure you were. You ready for today? :))''

''Yeah, not really looking forward to Goodson and his lectures. How about we run off?''

''And miss the new exhibition? No way!''

''Heh thought so. Well get some sleep. I'll see you later at our little spot?.''

''You better not be late again! I'll kill you if you are :(''

''With all the hostile champions running around you better take a number. :P'' I send the last text before leaving my room. _I should have eaten something before heading off to bed…_ I looked around the kitchen, not finding any food.

''Guess I'll make myself a sandwich.'' I said, grabbing some bread. After I made my masterpiece of a sandwich I sat down in the living room turning on the TV, hoping to find a rerun of the news. _Nothing on TV dammit, better go back up._

* * *

Passing Emily's room I heard some sobbing. _I shouldn't go in there, but do I really have a choice as a big brother?_ I opened her door and saw a red eyed Emily sitting on her bed.

''What are you doing here?'' She asked

''I heard you crying, so I thought better do my good deed for the month. So what got you so upset that you're awake at 4 am in the morning?'' I said sitting myself down next to her.

''I'm just worried about how things are right now. I mean dad has been missing for almost a week now. You're acting as if nothings going on. You're barely home leaving with Nathalie, going places. Mom is slowly going crazy about dad being gone and I can't take it.'' Emily explained sobbing a bit. I pulled her closer to me, holding her until she stopped crying.

''You know I'm worried about dad to, it's just… life has been complicated lately.'' I said with a sigh.

''You mean you are dating Nathalie or is it something else thats got you distracted?'' She asked. _Little gossip smelling gremlin._

''No I'm not dating Nathalie…'' I said letting out a yawn. ''Did mom call the police yet about dad?'' I asked.

''Yea, they're doing what they can and with the bank robbers caught they can spend more time on the case.'' She said smiling a bit.

''Not all the robbers were caught you know. I heard there were five of them.'' I said smiling back at her.

''How do you know? Weren't you asleep?'' she asked, giving me a look of disbelieve.

 _Crap, didn't think this through… dammit Mark start thinking things through…_

''Nathalie texted me the details she saw on the news. You know her, the cookie monster of news.'' I said laughing at my own joke, Emily soon joined in.

''Hahaha yea you're right.'' She said, a smile returning on her face.

''There's that little smile of yours again, I knew you would find it again.'' I joked. ''Now listen carefully Emily, Nathalie and I are also going to look for dad but you can't tell mom about it. And please, come to me whenever you want to talk.'' I said ruffling Emily's hair a bit earning a playful shove from her. ''Now get some sleep, you don't have to get up that early.'' I said as I closed her door behind me.

 _With so many things going on, I nearly forgot about dad._ I let out a deep sigh. ''Guess I'll have to look for him aswell.'' I said aloud before going back to my room. I still had some hours to kill, so what better way to kill time than to watch league streams. _God what am I doing with my life…_

* * *

After watching streams and playing a couple of games I decided it would be for the best if I took my leave. We had to be at the museum by nine so I had enough time to get there but I was pretty sure that Nathalie wanted to grab some coffee and cake for breakfast… _She seriously she has to stop fueling her cheesecake addiction._ Yi hadn't woken up yet either. He mostly slept in the daytime or meditated until there wasn't anyone around. Atleast it gave me some time to think about my nightmare. _Was it a nightmare? What if it was a vision? Maybe something Yi has seen before… But what about Nathalie? Me dying… God this stuff is so confusing…_ I was so deep in thought that I didn't even notice I was walking straight into the café. I was snapped out of my daydream when the cashier greeted me with a smile.

''Can I get you something?'' he asked.

''No thanks, I'm waiting on a friend, she'll be here in a few minutes.'' I said sitting down on a couch in the café.

''I better get my best cheesecake then.'' The cashier said laughing a bit.

''I'm sure she'll like that.'' I said laughing a bit at the comment.

''I'll like what?'' Nathalie called from behind me.

''Cheesecake, what else?'' I said motioning Nathalie to come sit next to me.

''Hmm, if you're buying, I'm in'' She giggled a bit.

''What do I look like your boyfriend?''

''No, you are more like a boy who spends time with me, pays for my food and gives me attention who is my friend but with no strings attached.'' She explained sticking out her toungue.

''Good to know I'm so important to you.'' I gave her a stern look. I knew she was just joking and didn't mean it but the idea kinda hurt.

''Oh don't be such a crybaby, it was just a joke.'' Nathalie said scooting a bit closer to me. ''You know if you want, we could always be more than just friends.'' Her grin never leaving face.

''Ok, now I know you're just playing…'' I stopped talking as Nathalie got closer and closer. Stopping inches away from my face. Our eyes locked. I got a bit closer, when the door to the café opened snapping us both out of our moment. Nathalie let out a loud groan when she saw who walked in.

''I told you before, I dealt with it.'' Roxanne said to a man with a hoodie on. She noticed me and Nathalie sitting on the couch and walked over, ordering the man to get her a coffee.

''Hi Markie… Nathalie.'' She shot Nathalie glare that could kill before looking back at me with a friendly smile.

''Hey Roxanne, you ready for the museum?'' I asked her.

''I'm not going. I got some work to do with mister cranky pants over there.'' She pointed at the man with the hoodie who was waiting for coffee.

''Who's he? I've never seen him before. He your new boyfriend?'' I asked smiling at Roxanne.

''Far from it Markie, his name is Tobias, he's a colleague of mine.'' She said as Tobias walked up to her with two cups of coffee.

''Here you go, princess.'' He said handing her the coffee and walking off to the door holding it open for her.

''Well that's my cue to leave, be careful today Mark, don't want anything to happen to you.'' She said smiling at me and shooting one last glare at Nathalie before walking off with Tobias.

''Well that was odd.'' I said turning back to Nathalie who was still glaring at where Roxanne had stood a moment ago. ''So where did we leave off?'' I asked trying to distract her from Roxanne's bitchy attitude.

''Nice try Casanova, it's gonna take more than that to get a kiss from me.'' She said, the grin returning on her face. ''I'm gonna get some cake, you want anything?'' she quickly walked off to the counter not bothering to wait for my response. _What's the point of asking if you're going to walk off instantly…_

* * *

After Nathalie had her cake, we left for the museum. The museum was in a special square in the city, which was made up of multiple buildings with different theme's. My favorite was the gardens of the world which had different gardens in different styles from all around the world. _Yi might like the Japanese gardens, maybe it'll remind him of Ionia…_

Ofcourse Goodson was waiting on us at the entrance. He didn't notice us in the large group of students waiting at the entrance. That was a big win because I really wasn't feeling like talking to him. I was kinda hoping we were allowed to explore the museum at our own pace. Goodson started to count heads and noted that Roxanne was missing. ''She'll have to explain her self later'' Goodson said writing down her name. ''Alright, you all had an assignment you worked on in pairs, you will pair up again and fill in these question sheets.'' Goodson started handed out multiple bookwork's filled with questions. _Ofcourse it's atleast six pages…_ ''After filling in all the questions you will give the sheets back to me and then you are free to go.'' Goodson continued his explanation, while handing out tickets to the museum.

Me and Nathalie paired up and headed into the museum. A guide welcomed us and pointed out that there was a new exhibition on rare minerals mined somewhere in the mountains of Austria.

''Soooo where are we off to now?'' I asked Nathalie.

''You wanna check out the paintings first? There's a bunch of questions on it.'' She said reading the questions on the sheet.

''Well, you know the way just don't walk off to far. I'll get lost'' I said following an overenthusiastic Nathalie.

The gallery wasn't all that bad. The sheet Goodson gave us wasn't all that hard either so Nath and I took our time enjoying the paintings. What was most interesting was the newer paintings at the end of the gallery, most of them where just paint thrown onto white canvas, creating the weirdest combinations of colors. Nathalie and I sat down examining a painting coated with multiple colors of red.

''Hey Yi, do the splashes of colors remind you of a curtain Ionian back at the institute?'' I said aloud so Nathalie could join in on the conversation.

''Wait, your telling me the league also has artists? Like painters and actors?'' Nathalie's eyes lit up at the mentioning.

''Yes, the red lines on this painting surely remind me of Khada Jhin, the madman always rambled on about his creations….'' Yi said with venom in his voice.

''Madman? What's wrong with painting this way?'' Nathalie asked.

''Khada Jhin a psychotic serial killer, he murders in patterns of four, puts his kills on display and calls it art. Once he used the blood of an innocent man as paint for a painting.'' Yi said disgusted at the thought.

''That's disgusting.'' Nathalie said.

''Well he might be a psycho but he is still one of my favorite Ad's.'' I said laughing at the face Nathalie gave me. ''I didn't mean to bring you down Yi.''

''I know, It is a nice painting. The colors compliment eachother well even with the chaos created by the random sprays of paint.'' Yi said.

''Didn't figure you to be the artist type Yi.'' I laughed.

''I'm gonna look for a bathroom, you two better behave when I'm gone.'' Nathalie said.

''Like anything is going to happen in a museum.'' I said sarcastically.

* * *

 _I can't believe they don't have a bathroom near the gallery, it's one of those typical places where you get lost in the art…_ I walked into the fossil exhibition still searching for a bathroom. _Come on, come on, come on… Score!_ I walked into the bathroom, about check my make-up when I walked into Roxanne. _Great just who I wanted to walk into._

''Can't you open your damn eyes? You dumb…'' She said annoyed before noticing it was me. ''Oh.. it's you, Nathalie.'' I walked passed her and started to check my make-up.

''What? Weren't you going to insult me or something? I mean it's not like you do anything else when I'm around.'' I taunted a bit. _I never understood Roxanne, she hated me with a passion only because I am Mark's best friend?_ _Oh that just gives me a great idea…_

''Hmpf you're not worth my time, certainly not right now.'' She said opening the door to the bathroom, about to leave.

''Yea, the less of my time you waste the more I can spend with Mark.'' _That'll teach that bitch._ Roxanne turned around, the hatred in her eyes was flaring up. She muttered some words to her phone. A faint purple glow forced me to shield my eyes. _Oh shit, don't tell me she's…_ When the glowing died out an extremely pale looking figure clad in armor stood before me, rapier pointed at my throat. _No she can't be…_

''Congratulations Nathalie you've been selected as the perfect bait.'' The figure said. Before taking out a canister spraying its gas in my face. Making me black out.

* * *

''Nathalie is taking awfully long.'' I said tapping my feet on the gallery floor. ''She never takes this long…''

''Are you getting impatient?'' Yi asked. ''You know what helps? Meditation.''

''Yeah, yeah I know but I was thinking about what Roxanne said this morning…''

''What do you mean?'' Yi asked.

''She said she didn't want anything to happen to me.'' I said deep in thought. ''You don't think she's…'' I was interrupted by the fire alarm.

''We should head outside.'' Yi said.

''But what about Nathalie?'' I asked worried.

''She'll be outside waiting, we'll meet her there.'' Yi assured me.

Once outside the class started to group up, led by Goodson who was once again counting heads. ''Nathalie is missing.'' He said slightly panicked. ''Has anyone seen Nathalie?!'' Machines started to emerge from the museum, the same machines I saw in my dream. ''Yi you know what those machines are?'' I asked telepathically.

''Those are the training bots I told you about. They are rather weak but are used for security back in Neo-Ionia.''

''So did machines from your world get into ours? Were they made here?''

''Most likely. Whatever deployed them wasn't a fire. Something else is going on inside the museum Mark.'' Yi said with a serious tone.

I started to walk away from Goodson and my classmates, searching for a safe place to use the PROJECT armor. _I guess I won't be seen behind a tree, but it's a little risky, not like I have a choice._ After I fused with Yi I took out my blade. I started to walk through the group of students, who were taking pictures with their phones and whispering to eachother. _Nathalie was right, I am a hit…_

''We're just going to barge into the front door?'' Yi asked confused.

''It's not like whatever's inside isn't expecting us, why else would the security bots be there?'' I asked aloud.

''To stall for something, good guessing.'' Yi said back.

''You… be careful please, one of my students is still in there.'' Goodson said looking my way.

''I'll get her out sir. I always do. In the meantime call the police, this isn't a fire.'' I said confident. ''You're giving yourself away.'' Yi whispered. I quickly stopped talking an turned to the bots.

''Hey you, yea you walking bucket of scrap. Come get some.'' I roared, charging one of the machines. Adrenaline surging through my body. The machine searched for the source of the taunt. Before it saw me it lost its head. _One slash is enough to destroy these things? This is going to be fun…_ The other machines noticed their buddy being ripped to shreds and started to surround me. ''Oh bad idea.'' I laughed as I used alpha strike to destroy every single one of the machines.

''Now that's not really a line of defense now is it?'' I stepped over one of the destroyed machines entering the museum. _Why a museum? What is there to steal in a museum?_ I walked deeper into the museum passing the art gallery. _All the paintings are still here so it isn't an art theft._

''Maybe Nathalie hid inside one of the bathrooms.'' Yi said. ''I mean that's the last place she went, right?''

''Good thinking Yi.'' I walked through the fossil exhibition looking for bathrooms to check. _No theft here either. I guess there isn't going to be revived dinosaurs in the city not that I would want to deal with such a thing…_ ''Any ladies in here? Please don't call me a pervert.'' I said walking into the bathroom. Completely empty, great… I noticed a bag on the ground with some papers. ''Definitely Nath' stuff.'' I looked through the papers recognizing the handwriting.

''Someone must have taken her.'' Yi said. ''Why else would she leave all her belongings in the bathroom?'' I looked around for more clues that may help to understand what happened here. I found a discarded canister underneath the sink. ''It doesn't look like something Nathalie would have on her.'' I said inspecting the can.''

''That would be highly unlikely for her to have this unless she is from Zaun.'' Yi said. ''That is Zaunite gas, used to knock people out. A high enough dosses can easily poison or even kill a person.'' Yi continued with concern in his voice.

''So you're saying our target is a Zaunite?'' I asked.

''No, the PROJECT was overseen by Zaunites. It could have easily been someone in possession of a PROJECT armor.'' Yi said. ''We should continue our search elsewhere.''

We left the bathrooms and headed towards the main hall of the museum which was the center of it all, a ton of the exhibitions ended in the main hall. Maybe we can find some clues here. _Anything to help us find Nath…_

* * *

''Yes, I've scouted the whole damn building, she was the only one left. Hmmm… And why couldn't I just kill her?'' A familiar voice came from the main hall. I took a quick peek from around the corner and there she stood, rapier in one hand the other on her visor, like she was using a earpiece. ''Yes, I know, But you do know dead bait is still bait right?'' Fiora said. ''We don't even need bait to catch him, last time I nearly killed him.'' A few seconds passed before she continued, like she was getting a response. ''Just take the damn mineral so we can get out of here, the hexbomb will take care of Yi and that little bitch.'' She said taking a turn towards the ancient animal exhibition.

''Pfff, who does she think she is. Last time she cheated in the duel.'' I said breaking the silence. Fiora' heels could be heard clacking in the distance, getting further away.

''Well we know where to go now.'' Yi said ''They are stealing a mineral from the new exhibition. Let's go Mark.'' I dashed off towards the newer part of the museum which housed the mineral exhibition. _Strange there's no machines around to guard this area._ I walked up a pair of stairs into the mineral exhibition, in the middle of the room stood a cart with purple glowing canisters emitting a pinkish smoke.

''Well, well, well, look what the useless Demacian dragged in.'' Another way to familiar voice said. I looked up at the chandelier above, drawing my blade. Zed dropped down from the chandelier and laughed. ''You're to late Markus. I have what I came for.'' He said throwing a purple gem up in the air before catching it again.

''I didn't come here for that. I came here for my friend, where is she? What did you do to her?'' I said. Rage was boiling inside me.

''You shouldn't get attached to people you can't save Markus.'' Zed laughed before disappearing only to pop up again with Nathalie all tied up. He threw her against the canisters, knocking out the gag in her mouth.

''Mark! Run, it's a trap!'' She screamed only to be grabbed by the throat by Zed.

''You should learn to keep quiet my dear you're spoiling all the surprises.'' He huffed, throwing her back on the ground making her gasp for air.

''Keep your filthy claws off of her.'' I said pointing my blade at him.

''Or what? You're going to stop me? I thought you would have learned from last time.'' Zed laughed before disappearing into the shadows. ''Oh well it can't be helped I guess.'' Zed appeared behind me, trying to stab me. I jumped aside knocking his arm blade away from me creating a few sparks.

''You assassins are way to predictable, always striking from behind.'' I swung my blade sideways creating some distance between Zed and me.

''You want to see something original? Let's make this interesting.'' Zed said before enveloping himself with shadows. He created multiple shadow clones around me. All of the clones started to throw shuriken's at me. I blocked every incoming projectiles with meditates protective barrier when Zed switched places with one of his clones. He charged me with blinding speed forcing me back until I hit the wall behind me. ''nowhere to run.'' Zed said slashing at me with his arm blade. I struck back with full force, breaking his weapon and drawing blood from his hand. Seeing this as an opening I used alpha strike to deal some more damage to Zed.

The problem was that Zed had already calculated my attack and right when got out of alpha strike, he blocked my blade with his other, still functioning weapon, forcing it out of my hands. With his bloodied hand he grabbed my throat, slamming me back into the wall. I squirmed within his grasp, trying to break loose. Nathalie gasped at the sight. I raised my free hand towards my blade, trying to levitate it back into my reach but Zed took notice and head-butted me, making me lose my focus.

''Ah ah ah. No more toys Markus.'' He chuckled. My vision was getting blurry from the lack of oxygen.

''You monster!'' I heard Nathalie scream. Zed tensed at the insult and started to stalk towards her, dragging me by the throat.

''You think I'm a monster? I am the one protecting you, from him!'' Zed roared at Nathalie, forcing her to look at him. A few moments passed before Zed said anything, he just stared at Nathalie's scared expression. ''It's no use, you aren't her…'' Zed said to himself while chaining me next to the hexbomb's.

''We got trouble!'' Fiora's voice came from the hall. ''Oh, you already dealt with the trouble…'' She said.

''And it's not because of you.'' Zed said crossing his arms. ''You failed your mission princess.'' _Princess? No, it can't be…_

''Fiora looked at me with concern. She murmured something before speaking up. ''We should leave before the hexbomb's go off.''

''Finally something we can agree on.'' Zed said using a shadow to teleport towards the entrance of the mineral exhibition. ''You better hurry with the goodbye princess, we don't have much time. Now follow!'' He called after Fiora.

Before taking her leave, Fiora whispered something and sliced the chains that bound me. She glanced back one more time before walking off. _What a weird woman…_ The hexbomb's started to produce more pink smoke. ''Hurry up Mark we don't have long.'' Nathalie said.

* * *

I took my blade and freed Nathalie from her chains before picking her up bridal style. ''Hold on.'' I said running towards the stairs which were blocked by a few security bots, the same ones i sliced up at the entrance. ''I don't have time for this.'' I said running pass the stairs and towards a large window. ''Mark what's the plan here?'' Nathalie asked scared. I turned my back towards the glass to shield Nathalie and jumped out of the building. I held on to Nathalie just like in my dream, protecting her from the impact of the fall.

* * *

 **Pffff, there you have it folks. Another huge chapter done. Sorry this one took so long to upload, but I had to rewrite the whole chapter because my laptop didn't save it the first time and wend completely bonkers _ . Cliffhanger alert! Muhahaha, like I said before, I'm an evil summbitch hehe. Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter, if you did review it. It's really appreciated by moi :) Next chapter might take a little longer than expected, school's being a bitch and my knee is killing me atm, but I promise there will be a chapter next week unless something really bad happens to me. I really appreciate every single one of you who takes their time to read my fic. Have a nice day.**

 **Until next time,**

 **Emerald out.**


	7. Chapter 7

PROJECT: earth

Chapter 7: Affection

We fell for what felt like an eternity, in mid-air the hexbomb's inside the museum detonated and created a large purple flame coming out of the window we just jumped from, stray shards of glass flew around us. I held Nathalie close to me, trying to break her fall. With one hand I held Nathalie's head close to my chest, so her neck wouldn't be injured with my other hand I held on to her waist. I closed my eyes as I braced for impact with the ground. I heard a loud thud and felt a sharp pain in my back before I lost consciousness for a short moment.

* * *

''Come on, come on, wake up.'' I heard a shaky voice say. ''You can't die on me like this.'' I felt pressure on my chest, like i was being reanimated. I opened my eyes and was met with a puffy eyed Nathalie pushing down on my chest. I gently grabbed her hands with my own and spoke up.

''You do know that my heart didn't stop right?'' I got up a bit and noticed Nathalie was sitting on top of me. If it wasn't for the helmet she would have seen my deep crimson blush. _Why is this so awkward?_ I also noticed most of the class standing around us, including Goodson. Nathalie got off of me and thanked me for saving her, that way people wouldn't be suspicious of us. I knew she wanted to probably jump me out of happiness and probably anger.

''I should go.'' I said at the sound of sirens getting closer. I slowly got up causing the pain in my back to get worse. I stood up straight cracking my back. _That doesn't sound good…_ I took my blade and walked away from the growing group of people. I glanced back one more time to see if Nathalie was ok, I saw her talking with Goodson. _Looks_ _like_ e _verything is going to be alright. Now for the original plan…_

''Yi you mentioned Neo-Ionia, is it like Ionia or is it different?'' I walked around the square. I took a look at the map to see where I had to be.

''Sadly the Ionia I remember is no more. I don't know how long I was gone but Ionia changed. There were no more peaceful cities with large markets and friendly faces walking around, the capitol of Neo-Ionia as they called it was all sky high buildings, neon and holographic advertisements and the friendly and peaceful inhabitants changed.'' Yi said with a lot of sadness in his voice. ''But some of Ionia still exists but it's rare to come across it.''

''I'm so sorry, I didn't know. I'd probably freak out too if I came back from being missing for years and find out everything has changed.'' I said. We walked up to a large building. _I hope this will cheer him up a little and not make things worse…_

* * *

After Mark left I was taken into an ambulance. The doctor offered me a blanket and started to treat my wounds and take a look at my throat. The spot Zed had grabbed me still hurt and was apparently red from his grip. I had a few cuts from the shards of glass which he cleaned and bandaged up. He said my throat should feel better by tomorrow, I just needed to rest plenty. My phone started to vibrate. It was a message from Mark, my heart skipped a beat. _What if he's hurt? What if he needs help? Oh no…_ I let out a sigh of relief when I read the message.

''I'm at the indoor gardens around the Japanese style. See you there later?'' I send him a thumbs up emoji. I stood up ready to leave, when a man spoke up.

''Little missy, I'm going to have to ask you a few questions before you can leave.'' A large man in a brown trench coat said. ''I'm officer Michaels, I'm in charge of the investigation around these freaks running around.'' I frowned at the way he called Yi and the other champions.

''Ask away.'' I said slightly annoyed.

''Do you have any idea what those things wanted inside the building? Motives? Anything helps.'' He said taking out a notepad.

''The leader of the two talked about a specific purple gem.''

''Wait two of them? There were three of them at the scene.'' The officer said interrupting me. Pointing his pen at me.

''Well… One of them saved me.'' I said annoyed. ''He didn't do anything wrong.''

''He's still a vigilante, which last time I checked is a crime.''

''If it wasn't for him, I would be dead!'' I yelled at the man, nearly throwing my hands in the air.

''Calm down. Listen here, I'm just doing my job. Even if I truly appreciate him saving you.'' The officer raised his hands in defense. I let out a deep sigh before continuing my story.

''The one that led the whole operation stole the gem, the other left to patrol the museum to seek other potential hostages and look for him.''

''Him?''

''Yea the one who saved me, the one that saved all those people in the bank yesterday.'' The officer let out a laugh.

''Yea the guy who disappears with magic and all that mumbo-jumbo. Can you describe what happened before he rescued you.''

''He fought the leader and nearly died. They chained him up against the bomb together with me.'' The thought of Zed nearly choking the life out of Mark send a shiver of fear down my spine. ''That's all I remember sir.'' I lied. (I can't just go around telling Mark's secret to everybody)

''One more thing before you go. Would you mind giving a description of the one that saved you, what he was like?'' The officer turned the page on his notepad.

''He's the complete opposite of the other two, he isn't the silent type, he talks a lot. He's the hero type, doing it to help others, not for fame.'' I said not noticing I was blushing a bit.

''How can you be sure about something like that?'' _Crap I'm giving it away…_

''He just… seemed like that kind of person…'' _Real smooth Nath, real smooth…_ ''It just felt that way, the way he saved me, the way he held me when he jumped out of the window. He cared. That's how I felt it, I guess.'' _Come on buy it…_

''Hmmm, yea I understand what you mean.'' The officer said. ''Well, I don't have any further questions, wouldn't want to hold you up, miss… Sorry I didn't catch your name before.''

''Nathalie, my name is Nathalie. Thank you for listening to me officer Michaels.'' I shook the man's hand and took my leave. _The Japanese gardens huh? Sounds nice…_

* * *

''Sorry were closed today, some company hired the gardens for a cosplay photoshoot… Ah I suppose you're one of them, come on in.'' The man at the counter said. _Cosplay photoshoot? Guess it's my lucky day…_

''Oh, eh… yea I had a smoke break…'' I lied, walking pass the counter. ''Oh, before I forget. A… colleague of mine is still outside, she'll be here in a few minutes.''

''No problem, I'll let her through.'' The guard said.

After passing a few different style of indoor gardens which were occupied by the actual photographers and cosplayers, we got to the Japanese gardens. Yi let out a small gasp at the sight of the cherry blossoms at the entrance at the garden. ''It's been so long.'' I heard him mutter under his breath. The garden wasn't huge because well it was indoors but it had a pond filled with lotus flowers, koi fish and leaves from the cherry blossoms. A small path with a Torii led to a patch of grass protected by a shrine. Around the shrine where spots for sitting or praying.

I followed the path towards the shrine and carefully planted my blade into the ground. I walked up to the shrine and sat down. The sound of a flowing water could be heard, the silence was calming and helped me forget about my troubles for a second.

''Thank you.'' Yi said with a brittle voice. ''I really needed this after all these years.'' I caught a few petals of the cherry blossom near the shrine. ''How I miss you, my dear Karma.'' Yi said. I gave Yi control over the armor letting him light a few incense candles. We sat in front of the shrine, meditating in peace. _Should I ask about what I saw? This doesn't feel right._

''What is troubling your mind, my pupil.'' Yi spoke up. _He never called me that before, this place must be doing him good._

''I was wondering…'' I hesitated. ''I had a nightmare last night, I saw Karma in it.'' I wasn't sure if I should continue asking…

''Well? What did you see?'' Yi seemed eager to hear what I had seen.

''It was a battlefield. She called out to… me… you… us. She was happy to see us.'' I said hesitant.

''Hmmmm, that's the first time we met, after I was changed.'' Yi said. ''She was defending the capital from Zaunite invaders. My heart was filled with joy that day.'' Yi's voice became brittle again. ''My memories are vague but the memories I do have of her, I treasure.'' He said letting out a deep sigh.

''I'm sorry for asking. I thought you would like it here, I hoped the garden would remind you of the old Ionia you remember.''

''Your thoughts and actions were right my pupil. Although I may miss my lady Karma dearly, the beauty of the garden reminds me of her, of the days I could still spend with her.'' Yi walked over to the small pond, took a lotus flower out of the water and placed it in front of the shrine. ''and although I may sound hurt my pupil, it does me good to be here, to be reminded of her.''

''Now come let us meditate.'' Yi said with a satisfied tone in his voice.

* * *

*snap* Our meditation session was interrupted by the sound of a camera. I turned around and saw Nathalie with her camera in hand. Her eyes got a little puffy when our eyes met. She ran up to me and nearly jumped me, hugging me tight. She started to cry a little. I let her sob a little on my shoulder.

''Shhh, its ok now. Everything is fine.'' I tried to calm her down.

''I was so worried about you.'' She muttered through the sobs. ''I can't lose you too…'' Nathalie said calming down a bit.

''It's gonna take more than that to kill me.'' I said trying to lighten the mood.

''Zed nearly choked you to death… Don't lie to me.'' Nathalie dried her tears and gave me a concerned look.

''Ah, yea that.'' I felt my throat, it didn't hurt as much as before, nothing a little meditation session can't fix. I defused with Yi, showing Nathalie my tired eyes. She returned the look with one filled with concern. I took her hands into mine. ''You're freezing.'' I said taking off my coat. ''Here, take my coat. I'll manage without it.'' Nathalie let out a sigh and put on the coat.

''Thank you Mark. It's appreciated.'' We sat down at the shrine. After a moment of silence Nathalie spoke up. ''What are we going to do about all this.'' She looked up at the shrine as if searching for an answer there.

''What do you mean?'' I followed her gaze until we ended up looking at eachother and both looked away.

''Well there must be a reason why Roxanne and that other guy stole that gem.'' Nathalie said, breaking the awkward silence between us.

''So it was them… Are you sure about that?'' I asked in disbelief.

''Mark, Roxanne was the one who took me hostage. She changed in front of my eyes.'' Nathalie said louder then intended, we stared eachother down. Nathalie looked slightly hurt at my response. ''Why? Why don't you believe me when I tell you the truth?''

''Nath, come on, I don't like making false accusations. Especially if it involves a friend.'' I paused for a moment. ''I will always believe you, never forget that.'' Nathalie looked satisfied with my answer and took a seat on my lap putting her back against my chest. I felt my pulse rise. _What is she planning…_ Nathalie rested her head against my chest, looked up and gave me a weird smiled. ''What's so funny?''

''Your face looks like it's on fire. You enjoying the view?'' She laughed.

''Using my own words against me, now are we?'' I smiled at her comment. ''But yes you truly are a sight for sore eyes. I know I don't say it much but… I don't think I could live without you.''

Nathalie looked away, hiding her own red face. ''Remember what I said at the coffee place this morning?''

''About if I wanted coffee? What does that have to do with my feelings for you?'' I asked confused. Nathalie face palmed and rose to her feet, I did the same, unsure if I screwed the moment up.

''No you ass, about this.'' Nathalie pulled me closer and without warning captured my lips with her own. Time suddenly stood still for me. The sudden sensation of Nathalie's lips pressed against mine caught me by surprise, the taste of her lips was a whole new experience. I felt Nathalie's hands brush my cheek as she made the kiss more passionate, shaking me from my frozen state. I returned the kiss and took control taking Nathalie by surprise, as she let out a soft moan of approval before redirecting her hands down from my cheek to my neck, like she was holding on for dear life. Neither of us wanted this moment to end but in the end Nathalie broke the kiss up, as we both needed to regain our breath. We stared at the deep shades of red on each other's faces and smiled.

A few moments passed before Nathalie spoke up.

''Thank you.'' Nathalie said, her voice low, just above a whisper.

''For what?'' I asked, pressing my forehead against hers still slightly catching my breath.

''For being there for me when I needed you most.'' Nathalie said with a smile.

''I couldn't just leave you, I wouldn't know what I'd do without you.'' This time it was my turn to whisper.

I led Nathalie to an old tree near the shrine and took a seat. I motioned her to sit with me. She sat down between my legs, resting her head on my chest. I placed my head on top of hers and held her waist. We were both enjoying the afterglow of the moment.

 _Now this I can get used to…_

* * *

''Hey you two, the rest of your group already left and I gotta close the place down. You mind leaving and coming back another time?'' The man from before said waking us up from our afternoon nap in the gardens.

''Sorry sir, we didn't mean to hold you up.'' I said helping Nathalie back on her feet. I walked over to the incense Yi lit and put it out.

''Don't mention it kid, I still have to check the other half of the gardens, you two just make sure you get out before I close the place.'' The man said walking towards the next garden.

''Oh man, I was starting to get comfy.'' Nathalie said stretching her arms. ''Couldn't have asked for a better pillow.'' She smiled at me.

''I should take a pillow with me next time.'' I stood up straight, sending a bit of pain through my back. _That's gonna take a while to heal._ Nathalie noticed my grimace and looked concerned.

''Your back still hurts from the fall?'' she asked, guilt marking her words.

''A little bit. Don't worry it'll be gone before you know it.'' I gave her a smile as we passed through the entrance of the building. It had been rather cold lately, compared to the normal last days of winter. The fact that Nathalie had my coat on wasn't helping either. But she couldn't help it, her coat was destroyed in the hexplosion. **(An: Hex? Explosion? Get it? Hehe, I'm worse than Mark sometimes…)** The train station was about a ten minute walk from the gardens so I really shouldn't complain about the cold…

I suddenly felt Nathalie hold my hand. It was weird to think of her as more than just a friend, through all the years we have known eachother we never talked about what could have been sooner…

''I would've never thought something like today would bring us together.'' I said thinking back on all the years we've known eachother. The thoughts putting a smile on my face.

''I know what you mean but I caught myself thinking about it more and more in the last few months.'' Nathalie said squeezing my hand a bit.

''You should've told me. I mean you know me, romantically I'm a klutz. You know I won't notice the hints you're dropping.'' I grinned a bit at my own comment.

''I noticed.'' She said giggling. ''You were so surprised back there.''

''Hey that caught me by surprise alright? By the way I didn't hear you complaining when I caught on.'' I said earning a playful shove from Nathalie.

''I-I-Hey you weren't the only one caught by surprise!'' Nathalie was blushing slightly. Before we both started laughing.

''I'm glad you two finally made up your minds about your attraction to eachother, it was getting painfully awkward to watch.'' Yi suddenly joined in on the conversation.

''Yi!'' Nathalie said. ''I'm so glad you're ok too.''

''Nice timing there buddy. Where have you been hanging around?'' I asked rather curiously.

''I was checking out the news on the internet? That's what you call it right?'' Yi said unsure.

''Yeah.'' Me and Nathalie said in unison.

''Well it turns out, the news about the museum is spreading like wildfire.'' Yi told us. ''People are really warming up to the idea of a hero protecting the city.''

''That's exciting to hear.'' Nathalie said enthusiastically. ''Just imagine, the three of us, saving the city from Zed.''

''I don't want you to get the wrong idea here Nath, but I don't want you to tag along with us. I don't want to risk having you involved like you were today or worse…'' I said looking away.

''Hey I can take care of myself. I can be resourceful aswell.'' She said giving me a stern look.

''I noticed, you took great care of yourself today…'' I said sarcastically.

''Don't forget I'm the reason Zed didn't choke you to death, I was the one who distracted him.'' Nathalie was getting a bit angry at my comments.

''I think what Mark is trying to say is that he doesn't want you to risk your life, trying to help us.'' Yi quickly defended. ''We both care about you, Mark more than anyone else in the world. Maybe there's another way you can help us…'' Yi started to think.

''I'm going to figure out how were going to do this, you two enjoy yourselves while I'm gone.'' Yi's voice disappeared from my phone.

''Looks like Yi learned some new tricks.'' We once again said in unison before ''jinxing'' eachother and sharing some laughs while waiting for a train to arrive.

* * *

It took us about an hour to get home. The sun was setting and the cold winds were kicking up. We walked hand in hand through town, until we reached the point where we would normally split up. Nathalie had been frowning at her phone for the past couple of minutes, ticking away at the screen every now and then. She let out a sigh and put her phone away.

''Mark… I wanna ask you a favor.'' She said embarrassed.

''What is it?'' Her embarrassment had peaked my curiosity.

''My dad just texted me, he said there's a bunch of interviewers at the door all looking for an interview with me. I really don't feel like dealing with that right now…'' Her face began to redden. ''W-Would you mind if I stayed at your place for tonight?'' She barely got the words out of her mouth.

''I don't see the problem. My mom and Emily aren't home right now, Emily had a swimming competition somewhere so they're going to be home late.'' I said wiggling my eyebrows at Nathalie.

''Don't you get any idea's, just because I'm your girlfriend.'' She pointed her index finger at me.

''I was joking.'' I raised my hands in defense. ''But do you want the guestroom or do you want to stay with me?'' I joked.

''I don't mind sharing your bed. We used to do that all the time back in the day.'' Nathalie smiled at the thought. ''Let's just go, I'm exhausted.'' She said yawning.

* * *

On our way home we talked about the past, about how we used to say that kissing was disgusting and stupid and how we used to play with Emily when she was little. _Times sure change fast…_

''Those were the good times.'' I said unlocking the door and holding it open for Nathalie.

''What do you mean? 'Those were the good times' What are these times? Bad ones?'' She joked letting herself into the house.

''You know what I mean, the simpler times.'' I closed the door and threw my bag on the stairs. ''What do you want for dinner? I can cook you anything you like.''

''Can't we just skip dinner and go to bed? I'm tired.'' Nathalie said yawning again. ''You can make me breakfast in the morning if you like.''

''Sure I could use some sleep myself, but know this tomorrow morning the news will have spread to this household aswell and the barrage of questions from Emily will be hell.'' I warned, earning a giggle from Nathalie.

''Sure, I'm just going to freshen up. Wait for me?'' Nathalie said walking upstairs, throwing my coat over my head.

''No problem.'' I walked up to my room and changed into my pajama pants and old t-shirt. I put my bag near my desk and packed it for tomorrow. I put my phone on charge and looked up the news on my pc. _This stuff is spreading like wildfire, every site is talking about it, this could be bad…_

''Mark! I forgot something.'' I heard Nathalie from the other side of the door. ''I don't have anything to sleep in.'' I laughed a bit.

''Don't worry, I got you covered.'' I said taking off my shirt. ''Come in, so I can give it to you.'' That was a mistake. Nathalie walked in wearing only her underwear completely red faced with embarrassment. I just stared for a moment or two (or three, four…). _Damn I'm lucky…_

''Well? What's your solution?'' She got even more embarrassed when she noticed me staring at her. ''I-I-If you're just going to stare I'll just stay in the guestroom.'' Nathalie said getting annoyed.

''Hmmm? Oh sorry, I was eh, enjoying the view a bit too much I guess.'' I handed her the t-shirt. ''Here try this on, I'm sure it'll fit.'' And ofcourse I was right, it even was a bit to big which looked really cute.

''Not bad, not bad at all.'' Nathalie looked over my shoulder reading the article on the screen. ''So are you going to put another t-shirt on or?'' she said placing her hands on my shoulders earning her a groan from me. ''What did I say wrong?''

''Please don't lean on my back, it really hurts.'' Nathalie started to massage my back. ''Nath please…''

''Oh you.'' Nathalie said taking a seat in my bed and motioning me to come lay with her. When I got closer to the bed she pulled me in. I turned off the lights and felt Nathalie put her head on my chest. She let out a satisfied sigh as she listened to my heartbeat.

''This is nice.'' She said slowly before falling asleep.

 _This is going to be fun to explain tomorrow, but that's a problem for future me…_

* * *

 **There you are guys and girls, another chapter finished early because well I focused on getting this chapter out as fast as possible, I don't like leaving people waiting when it comes to cliffhangers. (I'm not as bad as I thought I was.) I also thought it was time to add some romance into the mix, making things more interesting later on because… I'LL NEVER TELL MUHAHAH. We'll get there when the time is ripe. Before I forget I added a title to the last chapter, I forgot hehe…**

 **Guys and girls before the standard follow, review, favorite crap I wanted to ask a couple of questions. Does anyone even read there authors notes? So I thought let's do a little experiment. I'm not great with names and I was wondering if you guys or girls had any ideas for the name of the coffee place Mark and Nathalie go. Also do you think it's better if I move the Authors notes to the beginning of a chapter? I wonder if I'll get any responses :)**

 **Anyways, you guys and girls leave a review with your thoughts on my writing so far or names for the coffee place and don't forget to follow/favorite to show your love. Until next time,**

 **Emerald out.**


	8. Chapter 8

PROJECT: earth

Chapter 8: decisions

''What do you two have to bring me this time.'' The man behind the desk said. Me and Tobias returned from our mission at the museum with our main objective completed. Obtain the gemstone for the master.

''We've obtained the gemstone as you wished, sir.'' Tobias spoke up. ''The gemstone was found in Austria, Europe.''

''I know that you fool. I need to run tests with this one to see if it's the right one.'' The man said inspected the gem. ''What about the blademaster?''

''What about him?'' I said. Tobias slapped me in my face, looking at me in disgust.

''You speak when you are permitted to.'' He said venom dripping from his words. I held my hand on the spot his hand had struck me. _That's gonna leave a mark._

''Well? Did you kill him?'' The man behind the desk tapped his finger on the desk. ''Don't waste my time.''

''He can't have survived the hexplosives.'' Tobias said confident.

''Then why, do I have this?'' The man pushed a tablet over to us. It showed Yi hugging a young woman, with a flash of light Yi turned into a young man. _I guess I did the right thing slicing those chains._

After a brief moment of talking they got closer to eachother. _NO._ Even closer. _NO,NO,NO_ The figures kissed for a few seconds. My mind was going crazy at the thought of Mark kissing Nathalie, My Mark kissing that, that bitch. A single tear fell from my eye. My hands balled into fists, trying to keep the tears back.

''You imbeciles! Is it that hard to do more than one thing at a time!'' The man at the desk gripped his desk, nearly breaking a piece off. ''It can't be helped, you completed your main objective. Dismissed.'' He ordered.

I followed Tobias to the elevator. ''Outside of the armor, you might have more freedom, but that doesn't mean you have the right to answer the master.'' He looked at me. ''Now follow, we have more training to go through.'' He pressed a special button on the menu of the elevator. ''Training grounds.'' The elevator said.

''You lack respect for your superior and have too much pride, just like the Demacian.'' He took notice of the tears in my eyes. ''What happened? Did that footage trigger a nerve?'' He let out a laugh. ''Pathetic.'' _I'll show you pathetic._

We passed the holding cells, inside the same man was sitting on the bed just like when I got here. He looked at me, like he was scanning me. ''Don't look at him.'' Tobias ordered. ''He is nobody.'' He entered the code to the training room, opening the door to the room. He took a seat in the room. ''Gear up. Show me you've improved.'' He gave me a look that could kill. ''Now.''

''Do as he says.'' I whispered. Fiora complied and fused with me. Liquid metal leaked from the ceiling forming six metallic body's with swords for arms.

''Impress me.'' Tobias said with a impatient.

I waited for one of the machines to attack, instead they circled me anticipating my first move. _New models…_ One of the machines charged me with blinding speed, missing my head by a hair. I made that one my first target, my visor marked the other machines 2 to 6. I dashed towards number one, it blocked my attack with its blades. I pressured its arms to the left making it lose its balance. The machine staggered towards the left opening a vital marked by my visor. The stab to the vital made a clear hole inside the machines glowing eye making it fall backwards.

Target 2 and 6 charged forward moving from side to side, trying to confuse me. Their vital points became harder to hit this way. Their advance was slower than the last machine, but this time they had the numbers. Target 2 jumped up, its blades extended. Target 6 began to slide forcing me to parry. I sidestepped target 6 and focused on blocking the aerial attack. I parried the attack from target 2 before dashing to the right narrowly avoiding the attack from target 6, making it stab target 2 in the eye, the machine let out a loud screech before falling forward. Mid dash I turned around stabbing forward into the eye of target 6.

Targets 3,4 and 5 stood still. _Something's off. They should be charging me…_ Tobias got up, clapping. ''You've improved. But this isn't teaching you shit.'' With the press of a button the machines and carcasses turned back into liquid metal dripping through the floor. ''You will spar with me.'' Tobias took off his hoodie, he wore a tight black training shirt showing off his bandaged arm from his fight with Mark. ''Do you comply?'' he asked.

''Yes sir.'' I gulped and took a battle ready stand. Tobias stood still in front of me, cracking his knuckles.

''Well what are you waiting for princess? Come on.'' He taunted.

I dashed forward, aiming to impale him with my rapier. He sidestepped the attack, grabbed my arm and kicked my elbow with his knee disarming me. ''Again.'' He said. I picked up my rapier and took a offensive stance. _I'll have to approach differently..._

I tried to attack him head on, saving my dash to avoid him grabbing my arm. Tobias once again sidestepped my attack. I dashed away from him, creating a small distance between us. To my surprise Tobias didn't move. I used bladework with killing intend, like Tobias had taught me. His voice ran through my head. '' _If you aren't aiming to kill, you might as well stop.''_ Tobias stopped my blade with his bare hands, surprising me. He pulled my sword out of my hands and shoulder charged me into the wall of the room. I fell to my knees gasping for air. ''Better, but not good enough. Again'' He said coldly looking down on me gasping for air, caughing up a bit of blood. ''Ugh, fine. Five minute break.'' He said before walking away.

When I couldn't hear his footsteps anymore I let everything out, all the emotions I had been storing since the museum, tears started to fill my eyes, dripping down from my chin onto the floor. Finding out Mark was my enemy, finding out he and Nathalie had shared a kiss, the beatings from Tobias. It hurt. All of it hurt. _I'm not sure I can endure this._ _No, I have to get stronger. I'll beat Mark, I'll make him mine at any cost._

''You done laying in your own blood and tears?'' Tobias said coldly ''The break was over two minutes ago and you're still laying right where I left you…''

''Yes sir. I'm done sir.'' I said getting back up. My legs started to shake like they were about to give out. I wiped off some blood coming from my mouth and picked up my rapier.

''Good girl, you're starting to understand who's in charge here.'' Tobias once again took up a defensive stance, waiting for me to attack.

 _A direct attack hasn't worked on him and dashing won't work either. What to do?_ I charged Tobias, pulling my blade at the last second, forcing him to dodge the attack. I activated bladework again this time slicing around Tobias, making him walk backwards. Every now and then he'd attempt to hop left or right, but I didn't let him, I would dash to the same side making him back off further into the corner. Once cornered I tried to stab him again. Every stab was filled with rage and anger that I had been piling up inside, Tobias eventually grabbed the sword like he did before and swung it out of my hands. It wasn't really a surprise the second time and it gave me a miniscule opening to attack him freely. I started to beat down on him. Punching him left and right, I meanly focused on his face which he shielded. He tried to say something but I couldn't hear him, I was letting it all out. Every. Single. Thing, that had pissed me off. Him punching me, him humiliating me, Nathalie humiliating me, Mark kissing Nathalie….

''ENOUGH!'' Tobias had disappeared from the corner. I was pulled by my leg and thrown into the middle of the room. When I got up I was surrounded by shadow clones all glaring at me. Suddenly Tobias now all geared up, swept me off my legs and knelt down near me and slammed my face into the floor. When I opened my eyes a red arm blade was inches away from my face, buried deep into the floor.

''Ehem, sorry I seemed to have… Lost control.'' He said getting back on his feet before defusing with Zed. ''That was better than I expected from you.''

''Thank you sir.'' I said getting up from the floor. I noticed my legs weren't shaking as much as before. _I guess I just needed to fend off some anger…_

''It wasn't a compliment. Again.'' Tobias said, crossing his arms waiting for me to attack.

* * *

I woke up from a message on my phone. A classmate told us we had today off because of what happened yesterday at the museum. ''That's nice.'' I whispered carefully not to wake Nathalie up. She was curled up against me, fast asleep. She moved her arm around me and continued sleeping. I looked at the time. _Only 6 am. Wow if it wasn't for the message we would have totally slept in…_ I smiled a bit. _And now, we can…_ I kissed Nathalie's head carefully, making her smile. Before closing my eyes.

The lovely moment was interrupted shortly after when Emily barged into my room. ''MARKWAKEUPYOURELATEYOUREGOINGTOMISSYOURTRAIN.'' Emily yelled. I shot up straight in my bed and glared at Emily. Nathalie however rose slowly next to me, rubbing her eyes a soft ''Huh?'' escaping her lips.

Emily her mouth fell wide open. I brought my hands to my face and began to massage my temples. Nathalie just looked around, taking in her surroundings gingerly. ''Oh. My. GOD.'' Emily said, carefully walking backwards her eyes never leaving the scene before her. ''Emily… Get out.'' I said pissed off. She complied and left the room before poking her head inside the room one more time with a devilish grin. ''NOW!'' I yelled.

''What? What time is it.'' Nathalie groaned.

''It's six thirty. We got the day off because of yesterday.'' I told her.

''Oh well. I'm awake anyway.'' Nathalie nudged me to get out of bed. ''Come on get out, I want to shower.'' She couldn't get out on her side because my bed was facing the wall from her side.

''Fine, fine.'' I got up and turned the lights on.

''Oh my god Mark. Your back's all bruised.'' Nathalie said covering her mouth with her hand. I took a look in the mirror of my closet and indeed, my back was bruised black and blue.

''Meh, I feel fine. But not a word to anyone about it.'' I said.

''You didn't feel fine yesterday.'' Nathalie said looking away, the words were filled with guilt.

''Nath there was nothing you could have done to prevent this. Please stop blaming yourself.'' I cupped her face, making her look me in the eyes. ''I would do it a million times over, no doubt about it.'' I carefully kissed her on the lips.

''I love you to.'' Nathalie said blushing a bit. ''I'm gonna take a shower. No peaking.'' She turned around sticking her tongue out playfully.

After putting on a t-shirt I walked downstairs readying myself for the barrage of questions. Emily was sitting at the table with the same devilish grin on her face. My mom walked into the kitchen with a stack of clothing.

''So… you want to explain yourself? '' My mother said smiling at me.

''I have no clue what you're talking about.'' I said pokerfaced.

''How about we start with the part where Nathalie was sleeping with you.'' Emily interrupted.

''Well… Nathalie couldn't go home yesterday because there were a bunch of interviewers waiting for her at her house, so I offered her to stay here for the night.'' I explained.

''And why is that?'' My mom asked.

''Well… yesterday at the museum she…'' I trailed off before being interrupted by Emily.

''We know what happened yesterday, we're just playing. What I want to know is why was she in your bed and not in the guestroom?'' _Ofcourse the gremlin wants to know what we did…_

''I… We… You see we…'' My mom and Emily were both grinning at my embarrassment.

''This goof finally build up the courage to tell me how he felt about me.'' Nathalie walked into the kitchen clothed in towels and hugged me from behind. _Saved by an angel…_

''Aw, that's so sweet.'' My mother said. ''Your father brought you some clean clothes before he had to go to work.'' She handed Nathalie the clean clothes.

''Thank you Mrs. O'Neill.'' Nathalie thanked my mother.

''Don't sweat it Nathalie and please call me Lisa.'' _I haven't seen her this happy in a long time…_ Nathalie took the clothes and gave me a quick peck on the cheek before leaving the kitchen.

''That wasn't so hard to tell? Now was it?'' Emily said looking at me. The devilish smile never leaving her face.

Soon after Nathalie (who was now fully dressed) joined us for breakfast. After a peaceful moment Emily started to barrage Nathalie with questions about what happened yesterday. Nathalie didn't seem to mind the barrage. _I should ask her how she keeps this up…_

My mom left for work and Emily got ready to leave aswell leaving us alone in the kitchen to enjoy our breakfast in peace.

''Are you really feeling ok?'' Nathalie suddenly broke the silence in the kitchen, she stirred her tea, avoiding my gaze. ''I mean your back looked pretty bad.''

''I'll manage. I just need to meditate for a bit, that'll reduce the pain.'' I assured her. ''Like I've said a bunch of times already. You really don't have to worry so much.'' I said taking a bite from my toast. Nathalie just gave me a bored expression.

''Not worrying about you? There are two people trying to kill you. How can I not be worried.'' Nathalie whispered irritated. ''And the worst part? I can't do anything to help.''

''That's where you're wrong Nathalie.'' Yi joined the conversation. ''I figured out a way for you to help.''

''Well don't keep us waiting, what's the plan?'' Nathalie said impatient.

''Mark needs someone who can monitor everything. Someone that can see things we miss, help us get into places, keep us save.'' Yi explained.

''How am I going to do something like that? I've got no crazy hacking skills.''

''You just leave that to me. You'll have access to the whole city.'' Yi said confident. ''I just need to make some adjustments to your laptop.''

''Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!'' Nathalie said slamming her fist into the table. Her eyes lighting up with excitement.

''Well technically you're waiting on me.'' I said standing up and putting my plate away. Nathalie once again gave me a bored look. ''What? It was a joke.''

''Just hurry up and get dressed so we can leave.'' Nathalie said impatiently, tapping her fingers on the table.

* * *

We had been sparring for what felt like hours. Tobias had given me quiet the beating after my little slip up earlier that morning. Sometimes he'd fuse with Zed and nearly kill me and other times he'd just block my attacks. During the whole sparing session I got in a couple of hits, some more lucky then others… It seemed like every time I got a hit in, Tobias would go even harder on me.

Tobias was getting to me with his sparring, he had total control over me. I guess that's what this was all about, turning me into a fucking soldier. His personal killing machine. He thinks he owns me, like I'm his fucking dog, like he broke me. Boy is he going to be sour when he finds out I still have a will of my own.

''Breaks over Princess.'' Tobias walked into the room, fused with Zed. ''The boss wants us out of here within ten minutes so I figured we spar one last time.'' He explained cracking his knuckles.

 _Does that mean I get to rest? Sleep seems good about now..._

Tobias unsheathed his armblades sharpening them with one another. _He's going on the offence with this one. I don't want to get surprised…_

My thoughts were interrupted when Tobias disappearing into a shadow portal he made underneath himself. ''This is no time to day dream princess.'' He said from behind me, his blade was pointed at my back. ''1-0'' He said as he walked back to the middle of the room.

I started the next round by attacking him head on. Lunging at his neck with my rapier. Tobias easily sidestepped the attack. I tried using bladework to slow him down but Tobias had already created a gap between us rendering the ability useless. After bladework had ran out, Tobias created a shadow near me and changed positions with it armblade drawn. I stopped the armblade inches from my face with riposte. With my free hand I stopped his other blade and threw him off balance making him fall on his back. I pointed my blade at his face.

''1-1'' I said victorious.

''Don't get cocky princess, we still have one more round to go.'' Tobias said getting back on his feet. _Not even a compliment, not that I expected it…_

We walked back to the middle of the room. I was going to finish this last round, victorious. I activated Grand Challenge, showing off Tobias' vital spots as I lunged for one of them Tobias reacted by casting shadows all around and disappearing. ''You can't hit what you can't see princess.'' He taunted. The energy it took to use Grand Challenge was devastating and made me an easy target for Tobias. He made the shadows throw their shuriken's at me forcing me to Repose more early than I would have liked. After deflecting every shuriken I expected Tobias to strike from behind, but the attack never came. Instead Tobias appeared in front of me locking blades with me. I took my rapier in two hands pushing Tobias back. I was surprised that Tobias wasn't fighting back, he was literally being pushed to the ground. When suddenly Tobias kicked me off my legs with a low kick. He pushed his blade closer to my neck, putting little pressure on it careful not to stab me in the neck.

''2-1'' He said defusing with Zed. He offered me his hand and pulled me back up. ''You've impressed me today.'' He turned around and walked away after the compliment. After Tobias left the room I defused with Fiora, falling to my knees. I was exhausted to the point that I couldn't stand up straight.

''The floor looks like a good place to fall asleep…'' I said to myself. My eyes were getting heavy. Just when I lay down on the floor I heard a voice.

''You know you are wrong to follow these men.'' It whispered. I curled up in a ball ignoring the voice.

I felt the stains on my cheek from the tears I shed earlier. I thought about the video I saw earlier, about Mark being Yi. Mark was the thing I needed to kill.

 _No. It was the blademaster, the one who's corrupting him._

''Yi would never corrupt anyone. He is a good man. He would never harm an innocent man.'' The voice spoke up again, this time with anger in it. ''You know you would do wrong by Mark if you killed him. He would never love you that way.''

''CAN'T YOU JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP!?'' I screamed at the voice, tears stinging in my eyes once again. ''I know it's wrong, but it's the only way.'' I sobbed.

''Ma Chérie… It wasn't my intention to hurt you.'' The voice talked back softly almost lovingly.

''No more words from you. I need time to think about it.'' I silenced the voice and it obeyed.

I let my thoughts race before falling asleep in my own tears.

* * *

I woke up to screams of agony and pain. At first I was frightened that I was having another nightmare, but then realized they came from the holding cells outside of the training room. I snuck out of the training room and took a quick peek into the hallway. One of the cells was open, a faint red glow coming from the cell. I walked up to it and took a look inside but I wasn't prepared for what was happening inside.

A sort of Tentacle machine held the man from before up by his torso, its tentacle was binding the man from his feet to his arms. _so_ _the machine was the thing emitting red light in the hallway…_ The machine raised another tentacle at the man, it began to glow red and let out a thin red line onto the man's arm, leaving a bright red spot on his skin. Earning another agonizing scream of pain and terror from the man, making it echo through the halls. The scream send shivers down my spine. I noticed another figure beside the tentacle machine. _Is that the boss?_

''Maybe now you are willing to tell me why you took such a precious thing from me.'' The boss said, forcing the man in the cell to look at him. ''Why. Did. You. Free. Him.'' He repeated slowly. The man spit in the boss' face. Saliva mixed with blood dripped down his face, infuriating him.

''You've been torturing me for days, do you really think I'm going to break.'' The man spoke up with a grin on his face. _I've seen that grin before. Is that… Mr. O'Neill?_

''Fine! You have had more than enough chances, I would never step down to this human level of behavior, but you leave me no other choice.'' The machine released the man from its grip, dropping him to the floor.

''Get him ready. I want the boy by tomorrow night.'' The boss said into a phone whilst cleaning his face. The boss walked out of the cell and took notice of me.

''No! Whatever you do, leave him out of this!'' The man yelled, crawling back on his feet. ''I'll tell you anything you want, but leave my family out of this!'' I could hear de desperation in his voice.

''You, get your superior ready for a hunt.'' He said coldly, pointing his finger at me. Before looking back into the cell.

''You are the one who got him entangled in this mess, now he's going to pay for your mistakes.'' The boss walked pass me into the elevator, the tentacle machine floated after him. I was still taking all the information in when the man spoke up to me.

''Roxanne? What happened to you? Why are you doing this?'' He looked at me with a desperate expression. ''You can warn Mark. You have to!'' He said gripping the bars of the cell.

''I have my orders Mr. O'Neill.'' I said as I passed the cell ignoring the curses thrown at me from inside the cell.

 _I have my own plan to follow…_

* * *

 **Woooo! Just in time for the weekend to begin. There you go guys and gals, chapter 8. Things are getting spicy. What will happen next? Who knows? I do! HA. Sorry I'm like this… I'm just all hyped up that I got this chapter out on time. My week has been insanely busy with school and what not. Exams are coming up so I might miss a weekly upload, but fear not I will make it up to you all. I haven't really been replying to reviews… hehe sorry… Well better late then never.**

 **Random Reader thank you for the review and the tip of pre reading my chapters, I've never really done something like that before not even exams at school cause they always make me doubt what I write down, just like here I doubt myself rather quickly but I am able to fish out a lot of stupid mistakes I make and autocorrect fails. Anyway the review is really appreciated. :)**

 **Sophie thanks for the encouragement to keep writing, I've always wondered if people would like to read my stories. Thank you for the kind words, I'll do my best to keep it up.**

 **Lehnox Thanks for confirming that there's people reading this stuff xd. Like I said, I doubt myself rather quickly… As for the name I'll consider it, it really does give away that little coffee place feel, thanks for the suggestion and thanks for the words of encouragement. I'll keep it up!**

 **One last thing before I go guys and gals, I was thinking about opening a discord server for people who are interested on news updates and just to hang out. I myself have read a ton of fic's before writing my own but I'm too shy to review so I thought to myself maybe there's a bunch of people like me out there who would love to give their invoice on the fic but are too shy to do so. I'd love to hear you guys' thought on it!**

 **Until next time,**

 **Emerald out.**


	9. Chapter 9

PROJECT: Earth

Chapter 9: Core

It had been fifteen minutes since Mark had left to take a shower. Me and Yi where still sitting at the table in the kitchen. My patience was running rather thin after what Yi said. Well I was more excited than impatient, the fact that I could help the two of them without being in danger seemed nice.

''Ughhh. Why is he taking so long? I mean it's not like he has to do his make-up or something.'' I said tapping my fingers on the table.

''Maybe he flushed himself down the drain.'' Yi said making me giggle a bit.

''Knowing Mark, he probably has.'' I said laughing. ''Yi? I've had this question on my mind, would you mind trying to answer it?'' I asked rather seriously.

''I've got nowhere to be. Ask away.'' He said sounding rather happy.

''Well I was wondering… You and Mark are connected and are able to fuse that way but is there other people you can fuse with? Like with me for example?'' I asked the curiosity was clearly noticeable in my words.

''I'm not sure Nathalie. Mark and I are connected as you say. Our synchronization makes the bond stronger, making Mark able to almost use one-hundred percent of the armor and my spells. As for your other question. I don't know.'' Yi explained.

''What do you mean you're not sure? I mean I'm right here lets fuse, you and I.'' _Well that got out a little too demanding, whoops…_

''It isn't that easy Nathalie. Mark has such a strong bond with me because we are alike, personality wise that is. That is what makes our synchronization so strong. You and I aren't much alike… '' Yi thought for a moment before continuing, lighting up the mood a bit.

''But there is a curtain champion you do remind me of.'' Yi said almost ignoring my rather demanding comment. _Such a nice person, Mark and him alike? Mark could learn a thing or two from Yi heehee._

''Oh… that's too bad I guess, I didn't mean to sound so demanding just now…'' I looked away a little embarrassed.

''It's ok, it's natural to be curious about things you don't understand. Now to answer your question about fusing with you, it wouldn't do much. You would probably be able to summon my sword at best…'' Yi stopped and thought for a moment. ''Because of the synchronization between us ofcourse…'' He quickly added making me smile.

''Well maybe one day I get the chance to summon it.'' I laughed a bit. ''You stay here, I'm gonna check up on Mark this is taking way to long.'' I said getting up from my chair.

''I'm not going anywhere.'' I heard Yi say as I left the kitchen.

* * *

(10 minutes earlier in the shower.)

I turned on the shower, waiting of water to be alright for me to get under. After waiting a few seconds it felt right and I carefully took off my shirt, triggering a small wave of pain through my back, making me wince a bit. A moment passed before I got fully undressed and stepped into the shower, letting the water pour over me.

The feeling of the water massaging my back was lovely after the last couple of crazy days. After what happened yesterday at the museum I felt completely drained from any energy. Using the armor and Yi's spells where extremely exhausting if used consecutive, not to mention that I haven't even learned to use highlander yet.

''I'll just have to get used to training even harder than before.'' I told myself. I sat down in the shower, carefully leaning against the wall. The cold sensation of the tiles against my skin felt strangely good, like the cold was cooling my back.

I felt my mind slowly beginning to drift away, my eyes got heavy and my breathing got slower. Suddenly a sharp pain struck my head. It felt like the worst headache I ever had. My vision began to blur and distort changing from the shower floor into a fiery hell. I was trapped underneath burning beams. In distance I could hear laughing. A faint yellow glow could be seen in the distance, slowly getting closer, after a moment I recognized the figure of a woman…

I was knocked out of the moment by a knocking on the bathroom door. The flames around me began to distort and started to die down, the cinders around me began to change back into the shower and the burning feeling of the flames became the feeling of water running down my body.

''Mark? Are you ok?'' Nathalie called from the other side of the door. ''You've been in there for a while now.''

''I'm fine, I just needed a moment. I'll be right down.'' I quickly turned off the shower and dried myself off, shaking off he strange vision.

''What took you so long? I was starting to believe you flushed yourself.'' Nathalie said smiling at her own comment.

''Ha ha, very funny.'' I said sarcastically. ''I just needed a moment to get my mind together. I'm just tired after the last few days.''

''I understand, Yi and I talked about it earlier.'' Nathalie said holding on to my arm as we walked over to her home.

''Are you sure the reporters are gone?'' I asked unsure if she even thought about that problem.

''Yep, my dad texted me about it, he said they left a couple of hours ago. They seemed pretty persistent.'' Nathalie said laughing. ''Now come on we're almost there.'' Nathalie said pulling me along with her. _So much energy…_

* * *

Ten minutes of being dragged by the arm later I found myself sitting on the couch in Nathalie's living room, waiting for her to return with her laptop. I checked a local news website for any news on my heroic deeds, hearing a loud cursing coming from Nathalie her room making me chuckle a bit.

''Can't find your laptop Nath? You should consider cleaning up your room sometimes, last time I came by it was a mess.''

''Oh no, I'm not taking that from a guy whose room is a freaking pigpen compared to mine.'' Nathalie said walking down the stairs with her laptop in hand.

''Great now the only thing you have to do is connect Mark's phone to your laptop, I'll do the rest.'' Yi said ignoring our bickering.

I plugged my phone charger into the USB-port of Nath her laptop, giving Yi a way to take control of the device. My phone went back to how it looked without Yi inside it. It looked weird after Yi had been living there for almost two weeks.

''Now this is a nice place to live in, I actually have space to stretch my legs here. Technically speaking ofcourse.'' Yi joked, inspecting the laptop.

''I'm glad you like it Yi but let's not get sidetracked here.'' Nathalie said barely contain her excitement.

''Right, right. I just need a little time to get things set up in here. I don't know if you two have anything to do but this might take a few hours to install.'' Yi explained. ''I'll be back when I'm done here. So don't forget I'm in here for a while.''

''Ugh that long?'' Nathalie said holding her head in her hands. ''Well I guess the spring festival is coming up and I have nothing to wear. Maybe we can go to the city and get something…'' She said balling a fist and slapping it into open hand.

''You've got to be kidding me…'' I gave her a bored look. ''Really Nath? You and nothing to wear? Not by a long shot.''

''Hey! I can't wear the same clothes I wore last year!'' Nathalie said giving me a slight shove. ''Not to mention I'm not the only one who could use a wardrobe upgrade.''

''Well… You got a point I guess. I never really dress up for stuff like festivals, let alone go to them in the first place. But I got a feeling I won't have a choice this time.'' Nathalie gave me a bright smile after hearing my surrender.

''Nope, nope you won't, let me just grab some stuff and maybe we'll be able to catch a train just in time.'' Nathalie said the glimmer of excitement returning in her eyes.

 _This is going to be another looooong day._

* * *

After a long train ride into the city and a few arguments on what we were going to wear to the festival we finally arrived in the city. The upcoming days were going to be sunny days, atleast that's what the weather forecast was. I can't wait for the sun to come back. I mean winter is nice but if there's no snow what's the point? Hopefully spring would bring nicer weather.

''Mark? Hello?'' Nathalie snapped me out of my moment. ''Were you daydreaming again? You better be daydreaming about me.'' She joked putting her hands on her hips pouting slightly.

''Ofcourse, I barely dream of anything else.'' I replied with a smirk. Earning a aww from Nathalie and a quick peck on the cheek.

''Now let's go! We got outfits to buy!'' Nathalie yelled, wrapping herself around my arm, throwing her free hand into the air. _I have a feeling I'm going to be… Yep dragged along…_

''You know Nath we could just take it slow. It's only twelve o'clock. We got enough time to spare.'' Nathalie stopped in her tracks like she was in thinking about something.

''Hmmm… You know what? How about we take a look around here and we'll get something to eat afterwards. You still owe me from last night.'' She smiled sticking out her tongue playfully. _Sigh…_

I was dragged around by Nathalie into a large mall. It was filled with different kind of shops. Clothing shops, shoe shops, food stands, sports goods, you name it, this mall had it all. Nathalie was still dragging me along pass all the different kinds of stores until she suddenly stopped in her tracks making me bump into her.

''We're here.'' She announced gleefully. I looked at the sign above the store. _Hmmm… The White Lotus. Sounds expensive._ ''This stuff is a bit expensive but they have the nicest seasonal clothing.'' We walked in and let me tell you, this place was bright. Like after a night of gaming in your dim room, looking up into the sun burning my eyes bright. The whole store was like a giant white room with some other colors here and there, but mostly white.

''Nath you sure you want to wear all white? It seems kinda boring don't you think?'' I asked unsure about her choice of clothes.

''You just sit here and I'll pick out some clothes and try them on, I'll show you how nice these clothes are.'' Nathalie said dashing off into the clothing.

''Sigh, this is going to take a while.'' I said taking out my phone.

''I heard that.'' Nathalie called from the other side of the store.

I looked up some more news on the museum heist. ''The police are doing a full investigation on what could have happened inside the museum. The machine carcasses recovered by the forensic team lead to a company called 'Core'. The new owner of the company had this to say: We aren't sure how our prototype security robots could have been stolen from our storage.'' _Core? That company has its headquarters in the city…_

I walked over to the changing room where Nathalie was busy changing and knocked on the white door. ''Nath didn't your dad get a new boss a couple of weeks ago?'' I was afraid of the answer.

''Yea why are you asking?'' Nathalie replied. ''He seems like a harsh guy, he really pushes my dad to finish his projects.''

''Don't mind me asking but doesn't he work for Core?''

''I think so. I don't really pay attention to the details. Why are you so interested in my dad's work all of a sudden?''

''Well the machines in the museum belonged to Core. And I was thinking…'' Nathalie let out a gasp.

''You think Core and Zed are connected? It seems unlikely since Zed could have just stolen the machines right?'' Nathalie said interrupted me.

''You got a point, but let's hold the thought and do some research on this new owner of Core.'' I said taking a seat near the changing rooms.

''How about this, when the program Yi made is finished installing we'll take a look, but for now let's enjoy our time together.'' _I guess she's right. A little rest now and then can't hurt…_

''Ok, are you ready for this?'' Nathalie called out opening the door to the changing room. She walked out in a beautiful white dress like top with jeans.

''You look stunning.'' I wasn't sure how to react. I did mean it, she looked beautiful but something was missing. ''It feels like something is missing though.''

''You know what that means! Back to the changing rooms!'' Nathalie walked back into the changing room.

After a few trips back and forth through the store and a lot of changing clothes later. Nathalie and I decided on a simple long white sundress which showed off her shoulders, although we both thought something was still missing.

''Oh it's like that dress was made for you darling.'' A shop assistant walked up to us. ''You know this outfit is a combination piece for the spring, let me get the matching piece for you.'' He walked off into the back of the store before returning with a rather large beach style straw hat. ''Try it darling, I'm sure it'll look great.'' Surprisingly the man was right, the hat really made the outfit.

''Thank you sir, we owe you. We'll take a look around for him and then we'll come pay.'' Nathalie said smiling at the compliments the man was giving her. Instinctively I took a look at the price tag of the dress and hat, which nearly made me fall over.

''Uhm Nath, did you check the price tags before you grabbed anything?''

''No why would I….. oooooh, that's a lot of money'' Nathalie confirmed my fear.

''I don't think we can pay for this…'' I said slightly disappointed. ''I'm sorry Nath…''

''No problem, this happens to me all the time.'' Nathalie said giving me a warm smile. ''Come on we'll try a different store.'' We quickly snuck out of the store before the assistant found us again. _Such a shame he was being so nice too…_

* * *

 _Atleast twenty different clothing stores later…_

''I can't believe we couldn't find anything nice...'' Nathalie said bummed out.

''Cheer up Nath we saw some nice things today, maybe we'll find something similar in a different store.'' I tried to cheer Nathalie up, which was going horrible. I thought I was bummed out by the price of the dress but Nathalie just hid her disappointment.

We were lucky to find a nice spot at a terrace restaurant in the sun. Even better was the fact that the sun was actually out for a change and the cold wind had settled down. _It might actually be a nice spring this year…_

I looked up from my daydream to see what Nathalie was doing. She was busy with her phone. _Probably texting a friend or something._ Seeing her this disappointed kinda bummed me out, it barely happened. Ever. _Guess I'll just have to use some of my savings to surprise her…_

A waiter came up to our table and put our drinks on the table, snapping us both out of our moment. Nathalie quickly put away her phone and I looked up from my daydream.

''Can you imagine next year we'll be sitting at a place like this with some wine or something.'' Nathalie said taking a sip of her iced tea.

''Heh, should have guessed the first thing you are going to do when you turn twenty-one is drink a whole bottle of wine.'' I joked.

''Nah, we'll share one.'' She winked back at me the smile returning on her face.

''Sounds like a plan.'' We shared a quick laugh before Nathalie looked at me with a serious face.

''In the store you talked about how you thing Core and Zed are related…'' She took a moment to think about it. ''How come?''

''It just seems shady. A large robotics company getting a new boss, machines owned by the company disappearing and popping up during an attack by champions not to mention the machines are built like the ones from Runeterra.'' I explained quickly.

''You could always check the program I created for details I took from the company's cloud.'' Yi's voice came from Nathalie's bag.

''Is it done?!'' Nathalie and I said in unison.

''Yeah, I finished up a few minutes ago. You should have access to a lot of data within the city right now Nathalie.'' Yi said. Nathalie opened the program and looked up some data on Core.

''Says here Core's newest shipment from Japan just got checked in the harbor and guess what? A ton of things were missing.'' Nathalie snooped around a bit more in the files and muttered a few words. ''V-01 prototype status: missing? Securo Droid V-6 status: missing? CG-00 prototype status: missing? Mark there's a lot of missing items on this list most of it is combat ready prototype's.'' Nathalie frowned.

''You said this stuff just got checked in the harbor? Maybe Yi and I should pay our friends at Core a little visit. After all we got you to have our back now what can go wrong?'' I said getting up from my chair. ''What do you think Yi?''

''It never hurt to take a quick peek at missing storage.'' Yi agreed. ''But something is off, you have a ulterior motive you're not sharing. A promise perhaps?'' Nathalie looked at me confused.

''You got me. The storage came from Japan, the last place my dad was seen. Not to mention its robotics, dads specialty.'' Nathalie gave me an angry look. ''And I may have promised Emily we would look for my dad while we were at it.''

''Really Mark? How about you tell her about Yi while you're at it? That'll work out just fine! Or how about you just walk up to Roxanne next time and yell: Hey look at me I'm Mark O'Neil, I'm the one you're looking for Roxanne!'' Nathalie said rather angry. ''The more people know about this the worse it'll get.'' Nathalie was slightly panting after her small outburst.

''Nath chill, I didn't tell her anything, I only said that we would keep an eye out for information. Nothing special.'' Nathalie let out a sigh.

''Fine just don't do anything stupid while you're out there got it?'' She huffed.

''Got ya, no more goofin around.'' I gave her a double thumbs up before making my way towards the harbor.

* * *

 **Yoooo what's up my dear readers? It's been a while since I treated you guys to a chapter hasn't it? Well guess what? No more waiting! Here you goooooooo… :) Eventhough it's rather short this time I hope you all enjoyed it. School and work have been killing me lately and have been taking up a lot of spare time. I've been feeling down a bit since last chapter so that also isn't helping much, I've been having trouble with being creative, and have kinda been slacking on writing, sorry, sorry, sorry. But I'll make it up to you guys. I hadn't really sketched this chapter in my head so it took me a while to get it out and make it just as long as the rest. Before i forget i reworked some of the early chapters to compensate for this shorter chapter.**

 **As for the discord server, I have it up and running. Come join it and chat, share ideas, ask questions, share art anything you want! Just don't be rude or racist and all will be fine! The link to the discord can't be pasted into the authors note so I put in the code you put in after the whole Discord dot gg part**

 **Link:**

 **/BWpaKr9**

 **Until next time (hopefully it won't take as long as last time),**

 **Emerald out!**


	10. Chapter 10

PROJECT: Earth

Chapter 10: Recruitment (part 1)

''So how are we going to catch the blademaster exactly? You haven't really filled me in on your plan.'' Tobias asked standing beside the boss.

''That is none of your concern, the reason you're tagging along is so I have a failsafe for when things don't go according to plan.'' He said looking over his shoulder glaring at me. ''And why is she with us? I ordered for you to come not her.''

''I don't feel comfortable leaving her alone to snoop around the facility all by herself.'' Tobias said to the boss. ''She is my problem after all.'' I balled my fists at the comment. We walked out of the elevator into the lobby of the large building.

''If I am correct the information about the missing cargo from Japan should have started spreading within the network, meaning they should have read it by now and are investigating it.'' The boss walked up to his personal car and motioned us to take a seat. ''I send the prototype ahead to monitor the storage in the harbor, the boy should be snooping around there by now.''

''So you send that flying bucket of scrap ahead to catch the boy, you should've send one of us instead.'' Tobias said taking a seat in the car and crossing his arms unamused.

''Why would I? You two only seem to make things more complicated. A machine is more efficient at getting things done then you two.'' The boss said with a irate voice. He pointed his finger at me. ''You will remain in the vehicle at all times, your emotions will only get in my way.'' I avoided his gaze and nodded.

''See? She learned her place quickly.'' Tobias said almost sounding proud at his 'achievement'. ''It just took a while for her to get used to it.''

''You mean it took you longer than expected.'' The boss said with a bored tone in his voice. ''Not that it matters, we have all the time.'' He opened a case inside the car and gave it to Tobias. ''Here wear this so he doesn't recognize you and gets suspicious.''

Inside the case was a black two piece suit with a white shirt and a tie. ''You will be my bodyguard for a while. We're going to pick up some military contractor who's interested in the model I send ahead. We'll walk into the storage, the prototype will give the contractor a show he won't forget and we'll have the blademaster.'' The boss explained his plan. ''I don't need you in the shadows, like I said: you are a mere failsafe. Understood?'' He said pointing a finger at Tobias.

''Yes sir.'' Tobias said putting on the suit.

 _Now what am I supposed to do to save Mark…_

* * *

I walked over the boardwalk pass some ships, some personal and some fishing boats until I reached the end of the boardwalk which connected with a more industrial part of the harbor. Large cranes, containers and storages stood on the other side of the fence.

''This place looks pretty deserted for a workday…'' I said looking for a way into the industrial zone.

''Well doesn't seem like there's any ships arriving. Maybe that's why?'' Yi guessed.

''Can you guys hurry up? It's starting to get colder on the terrace.'' Nathalie said. Yi created a network for her laptop and my phone so we could talk while I wasn't using the armor.

''Can you get us the location of the storage so we can take a look around the unit?'' Yi asked.

''Already on it, I'll send it to your helmet Mark. Aaaaand you two should be good to go.'' Nathalie said rather proud of herself.

I looked around for a way in. The gate to the other side was locked so that wasn't going to be our way in. The fence also had barbed wire preventing me from climbing over without shredding my clothes.

''I could try to destroy the lock with my blade but that might make people think I was here to steal something…'' I said, overlooking my options.

''We could always jump over it. I'll give you a slight boost just like at the bank.'' Yi said.

''What did you two do to get into the bank anyway? Wasn't the place completely surrounded by cops when you two got there?'' Nathalie asked curiously.

''Well it involved a large building, a roof and some of the armors power.'' I said. ''You know what? Just watch we'll show you.'' _Now to find a vantage point to jump from…_

''Those containers might work. The gap you jumped last time was a lot larger anyway.'' Yi pointed out the large stack of containers with foreign symbols on it.

''Not a bad idea at all.'' I said walking behind the containers and looking around if no one was around to see me fuse with Yi. ''Coast looks clear aswell. Seems like good place too.'' I said, Yi took this as a sign to fuse with me and in a flash of orange light I was once again clad in Yi's armor.

''Nath you seeing this? The connection should be stable enough for you to follow everything that's going on.'' I asked making sure Nathalie was still connected.

''Yea I can see the same thing you're seeing, the quality is really good to.'' She replied. ''Before I forget this is the pathing towards the storage.'' She added. A line presented itself on the ground leading me towards the right unit.

''Appreciated babe.'' I said climbing the large containers. Climbing inside the armor was so much easier. The armor enhanced most physical threats and made most tasks faster and easier. But dang this was just almost too easy. I stood on top of the container which was perfectly placed for me to jump over the fence (with a slight boost ofcourse).

''What did you just call me?'' Nathalie asked teasing a bit, making me think I made a huge mistake.

''I-I well… I thought you'd like it if I gave you a cute nickname, you know? like couples do?'' I heard some giggling on the other side of the connection. ''You aren't mad are you?''

''Heehee I don't mind, I can get used to it. How about you call me that again? Won't you?'' Nathalie said lovingly.

''You two are starting to sound like Xayah and Rakan, please stop its way too sweet.'' Yi joked, earning a few laughs from me and Nathalie. ''Jokes aside lovebirds, focus on the mission. You ready Mark?'' Yi asked.

''Always, give me a boost Yi.'' I said running towards the edge of the container, jumping off at the perfect timing. Hitting a perfect ten of a landing (not including the roll before I got back up.).

''We really have to work on that landing of yours, Mark.'' Nathalie said.

''Heh, yeah. I'm working on it. Now let's do what we came here for.'' I said stretching my back a bit.

I followed the line pass a couple of giant storage units, some had huge boats docked near them. The creepy part was that there was no one around, no crane operators, no crew from the ship literally no one. _It's strangely empty around here and it's giving me the creeps._ The line ended at another giant storage with the Core logo on it.

''That's it Mark, that's the building you're looking for.'' Nathalie said. ''Now take a quick look inside and get the hell out of there.''

''Don't tell me you aren't interested in what's inside this storage.'' I said stabbing the lock, opening the door towards the storage.

''It's just that this place is giving me the creeps.'' Nathalie explained.

I walked into the dimly lit storage. Tons of crates where stacked up on top of eachother, all with foreign symbols on them. Some looked Chinese and others Japanese, some even had Spanish on them. The container was a mess, like it hadn't been cleaned in ages. While looking around I stumbled upon a couple of crates that were opened and missing their cargo.

''Seems like we found our missing prototype boxes. Some of these things are huge.'' I got a bit closer to the crate inspecting the destination. I wiped off some dust to reveal this crate belonged to the ''V-01'' prototype. '' _It seems to have some special clearance to be shipped here signed…_ _O'NEILL!''_

''Holy shit, Nath we hit a goldmine. My dad worked on this one.'' I whispered.

''I-I can't believe we found something… This is wonderful'' Her voice was a mix of happiness and surprise.

''This is the first step to finding him…'' The moment was briefly interrupted by the sound of car doors being closed.

''Shit! Someone's coming. Mark hide, quick!'' Nathalie instructed, panic marking her words. I quickly climbed into the crate hoping it would be a solid hiding place. The sound of voices got closer until the door to the storage was opened and the voices got clearer.

''I assure you Mr. Marshall, these machines are the future of warfare.'' A voice said. _Seems there's probably two of them. Maybe a buyer and a seller? No to many footsteps three men tops…_

''I don't really like the idea of a machine replacing my finest scouts, but if your prototypes truly are as good at scouting as you claim I'll have to invest.'' Another voice said.

''You won't leave unimpressed Mr. Marshall. You see I have deployed a smaller version of the prototype inside this building and it already found its target.'' The first voice said rather sinisterly.

 _What is he talking about? He activated one of the scout prototypes?_ The crate I was hiding in starting to creaking a bit.

''Good sir have you heard about the mysterious vigilante running around the city?'' the sinister voice continued.

''Ofcourse I have, some of the finest people I know are trying to track him down and stop him and his little freak show of villains running around the city. Why are you asking?'' the other voice asked.

''Enjoy the presentation good sir.'' The sinister voice said.

The crate I was hiding in shattered around me. Something constricted around me, pulling me into the air. I was completely entrapped within the grasp of a giant metallic tentacle. The tentacle moved upwards until I was met with a giant red globe with smaller red globes above it. The machine stared at me like it was scanning me.

''I'm dealing with Battlecasts now? Great…'' I said ironically.

''Target acquired. Awaiting orders.'' Vel'Koz' mechanical voice called out, dropping down towards the origin of the voices. I tried to squirm out of its grasp but it only made the binding worse.

''What is this? No clever comment this time?'' The sinister voice called out to me. I shifted my attention from the machine to the source of the voice. A darkish light blinded me before I could see who I was talking to. I was met with another familiar face from Runeterra. The mad scientist who wanted to replace humanity with machines. The one, the only:

''Viktor. It all makes sense now. Only you would be so sick to entrap champions outside of their bodies and try to enslave them.'' Disgust marking my words. ''I should have known.''

''You had a clue yet you didn't stop me. Look where it got you.'' He laughed.

''Am I missing something here? What the hell is going on here? What the hell are you?'' The man with Viktor said, trying to walk away from the scene. The man looked like a military officer. _Probably send to check out Battlecast Vel'Koz…_

''How rude of me to not inform you about my affairs. I aim to end his tyranny just like you.'' Viktor said. The man smiled at the comment. ''Like I said enjoy this presentation.'' Viktor looked up at the Battlecast Vel'Koz holding me.

''Well? Show Mr. Marshall what he came for.'' He ordered.

''Affirmative.'' Vel'Koz obeyed and made the binding worse.

I screamed out in pain as the binding began to slowly crush me. I focused on my blade which was still covered underneath the shattered wood from the crate I was hiding in before, making it float into my hand. I slammed my blade into the tentacle which was crushing me, forcing the machine to either let me go or lose an appendage. But instead of dropping me down on the floor it threw me into a pile of cargo crates on the other side of the storage before letting out a horrific metallic screech.

''Mark! Hold on I'm coming over.'' I heard Nathalie yell. I could hear her pant like she was running towards the harbor.

''Don't you dare! It's too dangerous for you!'' I ordered getting back up from the now destroyed pile of crates with a small me shaped crater in them.

''Like hell I'm letting you fight that thing alone!'' She yelled.

Meanwhile Vel'Koz wasn't waiting on me to stop arguing with Nathalie and launched a couple of homing missiles towards me. (How did I know they were homing? I hear you ask? I rolled out of the way and the freaking things turned around hitting me in the back.)

Another scream of pain from me as I noticed my armor emitting a bit of smoke, like it was melting.

''What the fuck is this?'' I asked whilst dodging a couple of tentacle slams from Vel'Koz.

''Organic deconstruction. I would recommend you to not get hit too much.'' Yi explained. ''Not to mention it ignores the armor and goes straight for you.''

''Heh, yea true damage.'' I grasped the part of the armor which was smoking. ''How are we going to get closer to this thing?'' I asked a bit out of breath from all the dodging.

''You have to be faster. There's no other way.'' Yi said. ''I am unsure how were going to achieve that though.'' I dodged another set of tentacles thrown my way and started to charge Vel'Koz.

Vel'Koz wasn't done showing off his abilities yet as he opened a rift inside the ground. I could feel the heat emitting from it as I ran pass it trying to get closer to the metal imitation of the void beast. Vel'Koz opened another rift next to the one he already opened, forcing me to walk through it. My armor began to emit more smoke as I felt a biting feeling from the deconstruction getting worse. Vel'Koz once again threw one of his tentacles to try and stop my advance.

''Yea, no that's not gonna work again.'' I used alpha strike dodging the tentacle thrown at me, finally getting in range of Vel'Koz. Right as I was about to throw my sword to impale his giant red globe of an eye, he launched a sort of sonic boom near me, throwing me into the air away from him. While in the air I noticed Vel'Koz repositioning himself away from me.

''Great, all that for nothing.'' At this point the armor was damaged pretty badly. The deconstruction was eating away at my armor and I was starting to feel it burning my skin aswell. I checked the armor if any of my body was exposed.

''End this pathetic show.'' Viktor ordered from across the storage. Vel'Koz complied and positioned his tentacles around him like a sort cage for stability, making them emit a deep red glow. I sat down meditating some of the pain away, hoping the barrier would stop the laser.

''I know what you're thinking Mark but you need to be faster, meditates barrier won't block the disintegration ray.'' Yi said panicked.

''How do I use Highlander!? You never told me!'' I started to panic aswell.

''It's different for everyone. You have to find out yourself.'' Yi instructed. ''You have to believe.''

''I believe you can do it.'' I heard Nathalie whisper.

 _Faster… faster… I only got one shot at this… Do. Or. Die._

* * *

Vel'Koz reached his limit of stored power and unleashed it all aimed at me. A red beam of pure energy was launched directly fired towards me. The feeling of the beam burning my skin was excruciating. I let out a scream, a mix between pain and power? (probably the best way to describe it?)

Everything around be moved way slower or did I move faster? No it was me, I moved faster. The armor around me had changed into a lightweight version of itself, no longer made of metal it looked like some sort of barrier around me. My blade was double its size and also felt lighter.

''You did it!'' Yi cheered.

''Oh this, this is going to be fun.'' I said running at Vel'Koz, who was locked in position due to the disintegration ray. I could just run out of his laser, and zig zag my way towards him giving me a chance to wail on him. Vel'Koz seemed to be stuck until all the energy he build up was unleased, giving me a couple of seconds to slice off a tentacle with Wuju style activated.

Due to the loss of balance Vel'Koz began to fall over and fire his laser everywhere (and when I say everywhere I mean it, like he was burning a giant hole through the storage unit.) Vel'Koz fell backwards creating a giant hole in the ceiling before running out of stored power. I climbed on top of the metal imitation beast, ready to destroy his glowing red eye when he regained balance and slammed me backwards with his remaining tentacles.

When the distance between us was made he fired another set of missiles towards me. This time I wasn't going to try and dodge them no, no, no. I had a plan. I ran as fast as I could away from the missiles making them follow me, before running into Vel'Koz' direction. In response he fired another sonic boom, trying to push me back. Only problem for him was that I could just run around it because of the insane speed boost I got from Highlander.

I got closer to Vel'Koz' tentacle he was using for support, slicing it straight through the middle making him fall on his side. Afterwards I stood still, waiting for the missiles to get closer and at the last second stepped aside making the missiles hit Vel'Koz destroying the so called glorious Battlecast knockoff.

* * *

''Hey Vik, looks like your glorious evolution has to continue in prison.'' I said rather proud of myself.

I looked over to where Viktor stood and charged him at blinding speed. The other guy shielded himself but Viktor didn't budge. I jumped up into the air holding my sword like a spear, ready to impale Viktor. Before it could sink into my thick skull what was happening I realized I couldn't move, I was being held in midair by a gravity field. Inches away from Viktor and the cowering military officer. I also noted Zed's armblade inches from my neck.

''What did I tell you about using your armor.'' Viktor looked at Zed, a bored tone in his voice.

''With all due respect, Sir. He was about to impale you.'' Zed said withdrawing his armblade and fixing his composure from a battle ready one to a relaxed one.

''You were nothing more than a failsafe, I can handle myself.'' Viktor said pushing Zed aside. Highlander had run out and the lightweight armor turned back into the much heavier metal armor it once was.

Viktor took out what looked like a dagger with some wires on it and stabbed it in between my ribs. I let out a grunt of pain as the knife pierced my skin. Viktor let it sit there for a moment before pulling it back out and looking at a phone he had on him.

''Hmmmm, not yet ready.'' He said putting the phone away and redirecting his attention back to me. ''You are just filled with surprises aren't you?'' He said walking back to the car. Zed and the other man following him. In a darkish light the machine herald turned back into his human disguise and walked towards the car parked in front of the storage.

''Now Mr. Marshall about buying the prototypes.'' He motioned the military officer a seat In the car. As the car began driving away the gravity field disbanded dropping me to the floor.

* * *

While clutching the spot Viktor had stabbed. I tried to stumble out of the storage unit using my sword for support. I could hear sirens getting closer. In the panic I tried to stand up straight which resulted in me falling over clutching my side in pain.

''I'm almost there, hold on Mark.'' I heard Nathalie say through the armors helmet.

I could hear a car stop near me and multiple pairs of footsteps getting closer. I heard the cocking of guns as the footsteps stopped inches away from me.

''Is it him? Is it really him!?'' A overenthusiastic voice called out.

''Ehmmm, It's him.'' A bored familiar voice confirmed.

''Stand down this one isn't hostile!'' The excited voice ordered.

''Agent Ekko get the first aid kit from the car! He needs medical attention right away!'' The voice ordered. I felt two hands turning me onto my back. A blonde woman in a white lab coat inspected my wound.

''Don't worry Mark. You're in save hands.'' She said smiling. ''My name is Agnes, I'm Alisha's personal medic. You two met before right?''

''Here you go Doc.'' Alisha walked up and gave Agnes the med kit she asked for. She leaned against the remains of the storage.

''And here I thought I wouldn't have to count on you if I needed help.'' I said through gritted teeth as Agnes cleaned my wounds.

''Well what can I say, I was ordered to save you.'' She said annoyed, crossing her arms.

''Don't mind her moodiness, she was the one who ordered this operation. But don't tell her I said that.'' Agnes whispered smiling at me. ''Come on let's get you seated so I can bandage you up.'' She said helping me sit in the trunk of one of the cars.

''Can you hurry up Agnes? I want to get something from that Turkish place we passed…''

''HEY LET ME GO YOU BUNCH OF WEIRDO'S, MARK! MAAAAAARK! I'M COMING.'' An all too familiar voice screamed out. All three of us turned our heads towards the source of the yelling. Nathalie was being held down by two operators, who most likely were with Agnes and Alisha.

''She with you?'' Alisha asked bored.

''Yea.'' Alisha didn't let me finish my sentence and snapped her fingers. ''She's probably wor…'' Once again I didn't get a chance to finish my sentence as Nathalie already tackled me into a tight hug.

''I was so worried about you.'' She said taking of my helmet and looking me straight in the eyes. ''It's too dangerous for me?'' She quoted me, slapping me in the face.

''That's for ordering me around and making me worry about you.'' She grabbed my face with two hands and kissed me. ''And that is for surviving.'' She inspected my body with a worried look on her face. _I have to survive more often…_

''I know, I know. I need to be more careful.'' I said raising me hands in defeat. ''But, I did bring down that Battlecast and learned to control Highlander.''

''Wowowowo, slow down there newbie. You took this monster of a thing down?'' Alisha said inspecting the remains of Battlecast Vel'Koz.

''Impressive.'' A voice came from Alisha which didn't belong to her.

''Ekko?'' Yi asked surprised.

''Hey old man! How have you been holding up?'' Ekko replied.

''Better now that I know your alive and well.'' Yi said cheerful. ''Hey what did I tell you about calling me old man!'' We all shared a laugh at Yi's reaction (with the exception of Alisha who smirked at the comment though.).

''And what the hell does Highlander mean anyway?'' She asked, looking straight at me.

''It's Yi's ultimate. It grants a giant boost in speed and enlarges his blade.'' Nathalie said. ''Mark used it just in time to save his life.''

''Hmmm, I see. How long have you been linked to Yi?'' Ekko asked curious.

''Almost two weeks now, we've had a couple of run ins with Zed, Fiora and Viktor.'' I said, defusing with Yi so Agnes could bandage my body.

''That's impressive since it took Alisha almost a week to get the hang of parallel convergence.'' Ekko said laughing.

''Oh shut up. You weren't much help anyway.'' She said embarrassed. ''Ehem, now about your recruitment.'' Alisha said with a stern look.

''My what?'' Nathalie and I said in unison.

 _Now this is going to be interesting…_

* * *

 **That's it ladies and gents. Another chapter completed. Mark's finally starting to get the hang of all the abilities, but he still has a long way to go! I kinda felt bad about releasing a short chapter earlier this week so I sat down for you guys and directly started to work on the next. Well that and I kinda had this chapter drawn out in my head for a while, just like the museum chapter, only reason that one took so long was because my laptop deleted the file after I nearly completed it… _**

 **I had soooo much fun writing the last couple of chapters. Before I had to get used to writing and making time to write but now I just do it whenever I can. Like I said before tho my exams are coming up and I have a ton of projects to finish in the same week, BUT. Afterwards ill have a week off, giving me time to work extra hard on double chapters that week!**

 **Last but not least I wanted to thank all of you who followed and favorited the story! You guys and girls make me feel appreciated /**

 **Don't forget about the Discord server! Enter by typing in: discord dot gg /BWpaKr9**

 **Just remember to be respectful to others and don't be racist and we can all have a good time k?**

 **Anyway, thanks for reading this chapter.**

 **Emerald out.**


	11. Chapter 11

PROJECT: Earth

Chapter 11: Recruitment (part 2)

''Well? Are you going to answer me or what?'' Alisha said tapping her feet on the ground. ''You're either on our side or theirs and seeing how you already have beef with Viktor, I'd suggest you join us. I don't feel like dealing with more rogues.''

''Join who exactly? You aren't really making sense.'' I asked. Agnes was still busy bandaging up my side. She was being extremely careful not to touch my shoulder, which was affected by the organic deconstruction.

''I'll need some samples later.'' She whispered, trying not to interrupt Alisha.

''Ugh, the resistance against the rogues.'' Alisha massaged her temples. ''Look, we don't have an official name yet but we try to make sure Viktor's plans don't succeed.''

''Hmmm, rogues? What do you mean by that?'' Nathalie asked confused.

''The rogues are the bunch of champions who didn't want to join us and work for Viktor. Just a bunch of lucky mercenaries terrorizing my city.'' Alisha said, anger in her voice.

''Which champions?'' I asked. ''I mean I've been dealing with Zed and Fiora.''

''A guy with control of the wind and a guy with pistols.'' She said uninterested. ''All I know is that Viktor has been supplying them with everything they need to pull off heists.''

''So that leaves Leona, Ashe and Katarina missing.'' I thought aloud. ''Maybe Viktor still has them stored away somewhere.''

''That's not important right now. They're my problem, not yours.'' Alisha said annoyed. ''What is important to me right now is if you're with us or not.''

''Well? What do you say Mark? Nathalie?'' Agnes asked us smiling all the same.

''Wait up, I asked him not her.'' Alisha said annoyed. ''She isn't the one who can fuse with a champion. She's of no use to me.''

''Oh bad call.'' I whispered to Agnes. ''Check this out. 3. 2. 1…''

''Hey who do you think you are? We're a team! You either take us both or you get none of it!'' Nathalie argued angrily. Me and Agnes chuckled at Nathalie bargaining with Alisha.

''Jeez lady you drive a hard bargain.'' Alisha said letting out a deep sigh. ''Fine. What's it gonna be you two?'' Nathalie and I looked eachother in the eyes and without a second thought answered together.

''We're in.'' we said simultaneously.

''Great choice. Let's pack up here.'' Alisha started ordering her operators around. ''Make sure everything in that storage is taken back to base and don't forget that bucket of scrap.'' She said pointing at the remains of Vel'Koz.

''Agnes make sure those two are at the base aswell when I return.'' She gave Agnes a stern look.

''What about you ma'am? Aren't you coming?'' Agnes looked at her with concern.

''Someone has to deal with the press.'' She said annoyed. ''And I'm dying to try that Turkish place out we passed on the way here.'' She said just above a whisper. Making Agnes laugh a bit.

''Well you two heard the commander. Time to go.'' Agnes said inspecting the handiwork she did on my wounds. We got up from the trunk as Agnes closed the trunk of the car and opened a car door for us.

''Henry, would you be a dear and drive us back to base, please?'' Agnes took a seat in the front next to the driver and looked over her shoulder.

''It's going to be a while before we get back to base, so I suggest you two get some rest. We'll talk later.'' She said looking over to the driver.

''Will do Agnes. Thanks for everything.'' I said, making look over her shoulder once more.

''For what? This is my job silly.'' She said smiling bright again.

''Well if it wasn't for you, I would have probably bled to death or ended up in the hospital.'' I felt Nathalie glare at me. ''What? It's the truth. How would you have climbed over that fence?'' I asked her ironic.

''I would have found a way to save you, not to mention Yi was with you too. He would have helped aswell.'' She argued. ''But I have to admit this is way easier. Thank you for taking care of my idiot.'' Nathalie thanked Agnes making her laugh a bit.

* * *

Agnes wasn't lying when she said that is was going to be a while or atleast it felt that way. Sometimes I would catch myself closing my eyes a bit longer then intended, nearly drifting off into a deep sleep. Nathalie caught on aswell and pulled me closer to her.

''It's ok for you to get some rest, you know? You deserve it.'' She said peacefully. I nodded and rested my head on her shoulder. ''Using Highlander must have taken a lot out of you.''

''The whole fight was exhausting.'' I said weakly. The only thing keeping me awake at this point was the burning feeling of the deconstruction on my shoulder.

''What was that thing anyway?'' It looked like a weird squid monster.'' Nathalie asked, resting her head against mine.

''Vel'Koz. Well the Battlecast version.'' I explained. ''It's a machine created by Viktor based on the champion Vel'Koz The Eye of the Void.''

''Sounds scary.'' She said letting out a yawn.

''Ehmmm'' I agreed with her. My eyes were getting heavier, until I couldn't hold them open anymore. The burning feeling in my shoulder kept me awake, it didn't matter how tired I was. The burning feeling had to stop first. I heard Nathalie snore a little bit next to me and decided to let her sleep on top of me. I wrapped my arm around her form and pulled her closer to me.

''So Agnes… How did you start working with Alisha?'' I asked.

''Hmmm? Oh you're still awake. I thought you both fell asleep heehee.'' She giggled a bit. ''Well, Alisha and I used to date when we were younger, until we had a falling out. Don't worry that was years ago.'' Her smile disappeared from her face and her brows furrowed.

''That sounds pretty bad, if you don't want to talk about it that's fine.'' I said noticing the grim change in atmosphere.

''Oh no it isn't that. It was all my fault anyway.'' She looked down at her feet. ''How about we change the subject from me to you, how did you two meet?'' Agnes said pointing at Nathalie who was using me as a human pillow.

''Heh, that's a long story.'' I said scratching behind my head. ''We met the day she was born. Our parents are friends.'' I grinned at my sarcastic joke.

''Oh come on a little more specific, how did you get together?'' Agnes laughed at my horrible joke.

''That was literally yesterday.'' Agnes looked at me with huge eyes. ''She was the one who Zed and Fiora took hostage yesterday at the museum. I saved her life. After that we… decided we wanted to be together after being friends all our lives.'' I avoided Agnes her gaze. ''A bit cheesy isn't it?''

Agnes smiled at me. ''No ofcourse not, its sweet. So who kissed who? Hmmm?'' Agnes her smile changed into a smirk. _You've got to be kidding me…_

''Well…'' I felt my face heat up. ''She did. I'm a klutz when it comes to romance.'' I felt Nathalie grab me a bit tighter, like she was dreaming.

''Hmmm… Mark…. No not there.'' Natalie said in her sleep. My face turned the deepest shade of crimson it ever had and Agnes nearly screamed out in laughter waking Nathalie up from her (Lewd?) dream.

''Are we there yet?'' She asked a bit sleepily, looking around taking in her surroundings. ''What's wrong Mark? Agnes? Did I say something wrong?'' Nathalie noticed my face and got a slight crimson shade of her own on her face.

''Did I mention I talk in my sleep sometimes?'' She said, making Agnes laugh even harder. After a moment Agnes calmed down.

''That was too funny.'' Agnes said wiping away the tears in her eyes from laughing. ''It's nothing to be ashamed of.'' She said trying to lighten the mood.

''Listen up everyone, were approaching our destination.'' The driver said from next to Agnes. We looked out the window of the car and saw a giant glass building which was still undergoing some construction.

* * *

''Whoa, this place is huge!'' Natalie said looking around the place.

''It is, so don't wonder off without me around ok?'' Agnes said.

''Where are we going anyway? Alisha didn't say anything about that.'' I asked curious.

''Well first of all were going to have a stop at the med bay so I can treat your shoulder, and then we'll have to wait for Alisha.'' Agnes explained to us. ''And I can give you two a tour of the place while we're at it.'' She flashed her signature smile.

''Sounds great! Let's go.'' Nathalie exclaimed. ''Where is you med bay?'' She said embarrassed. Agnes laughed at her enthusiasm and turned the corner, opening a door with her keycard.

''Welcome to my domain.'' Agnes said gleeful, walking into the med bay. ''Have a seat over there so I can take a couple of samples.'' Agnes pointed at a bed on the other side of the med bay. I complied and took a seat.

''Say Agnes, how are you going to take samples?'' I asked a bit afraid when I saw her ready a needle and a couple of scalpels.

''Oh don't be such a baby Mark, you risked your life fighting a giant squid robot but you're afraid of a needle?'' Nathalie asked. I put up my nicest puppy eyes and gave her a nod. ''Fine, just hold my hand but don't you dare squeeze to hard.'' We shared a laugh as Agnes got ready for the minor procedure.

''Now this might sting a bit.'' She said cutting into the skin which was affected by the organic deconstruction. (Now let me tell you, it didn't sting a bit. It hurt, a LOT. Morale of this little story: Don't believe doctors when they tell you that it will sting a bit because, it'll hurt a lot! Believe me, not your doctor.) I squeezed Nathalie's hand and she squeezed back as she looked at the procedure.

''There we go. That wasn't so bad was it?'' Agnes said putting some bandages over the spot she cut in and put the small piece of damaged skin inbetween two small pieces of glass. ''Now for a bit of blood.'' She picked up a needle and a small band.

''Why do you need blood?'' I asked trying to avoid being stung.

''Well it's standard procedure for me to know your blood type, that also goes for you Nathalie.'' Agnes said putting band around my arm. ''Are you two familiar with giving and/or taking blood?'' Agnes asked.

''We've had some lessons.'' Nathalie said gulping a bit. I was pretty distracted by the conversation and didn't even notice Agnes taking a bit of my blood.

''Ah you guys are studying medicine?'' Agnes asked interested.

''A bit.'' We said at the same moment.

''Well did I do good?'' She asked, showing me the vial filled with my blood.

''Wow, I didn't feel a thing. Thanks Agnes.''

''That's my specialty.'' She smiled. ''Your turn Nathalie.''

* * *

After Agnes took some blood from us and stored it together with the piece of skin she took from me, she showed us around the base.

There was a giant canteen where you could buy a ton of different kinds of food according to Agnes. ''I would recommend you take food from home though, it tastes much better.'' Agnes whispered to us as we passed the kitchen staff.

We walked pass some offices and a huge room for meetings until she stopped in her tracks near a closed off area.

''Now this room is special.'' Agnes said. We walked through two large metal doors. ''This is the communications center. We use it to keep in contact with all operators in the field.'' Agnes explained. ''Every operator in the field gets assigned a buddy here at the center, who will guide them and keep track of them.''

''I've been doing that since today. Yi created a program which helps me keep track of things.'' Nathalie said smiling at me. ''I could be Marks buddy. I mean no one here knows him better than I do anyway.''

''You'll have to talk to Alisha about that stuff. I'm not allowed to assign jobs to people.'' Agnes said. ''But I'm sure Alisha will put you two together.'' Agnes smiled at Nathalie.

''Now let's move on to the more interesting parts of the base.''

We took an elevator down, pass the parking garage underneath the ground. After a minute or two we got out of the elevator and walked into a underground facility. ''Welcome to my workshop.'' Agnes said as she turned on the lights, showing off a large setup of computers, monitors, tools, workbenches and a special console with a glass wall next to it.

''What's that?'' I asked pointing at the console connected to the glass wall. ''It seems out of this world.'' I took a look on the other side of the wall noticing it was a completely white room with a single weird machine hanging in the middle of the room.

''Oh that's something I've been working on with my lab assistant.'' Agnes said proudly. ''It's a simulation room. I've been trying to get it to work but I fail to get the last couple of glitches out of the system.''

''Is it save to use?'' Nathalie asked interested.

''Ofcourse, there's nothing to worry about.'' Agnes said before being interrupted by a mechanical voice.

''I wouldn't be so sure about that Miss. Agnes.'' It said politely. ''Remember test run 54?''

''I don't want to talk about it Camille.'' Agnes said face palming

''You were lucky Miss Alisha was there to rescue you.'' The voice said.

''Wait Camille? Like in The Steel Shadow Camille?'' I asked interested.

''No, she's just an AI I created. Her voice is based on Camille though, if only I could give her the attitude.'' Agnes said thinking.

''You created your very own AI? You're a doctor and a scientist?'' Nathalie asked amazed.

'''Well when I was younger my parents made me do a IQ test which resulted in a IQ of 210'' Agnes said typing in some data into the console. ''Some people consider it to be one of the highest in the world, but I really don't like bragging about it. It's just a bunch numbers.''

''Well your genius is easily noted Agnes.'' I said looking around the workshop. ''You are ahead of your time.''

''Oh stop you're going to make me blush.'' She said brushing off the compliment. ''Now what place did you have in mind for the simulation?''

''Well how about something simple? A track and field stadium?'' I said resting my hands behind my head.

''No problem.'' Agnes typed in a bunch of stuff on the console. ''Aaand done. Let's get in the simulation room.'' She said opening a big glass door. We walked into the room and within seconds the room changed from completely white to a stadium.

''This… This is amazing. There's so much eye for detail.'' I said touching one of the stands.

''It's all so… real.'' Nathalie gasped.

''Heehee, my invention seems to have this effect on people.'' Agnes smiled. ''May I ask Mark, why a stadium?''

''Well I wanted to see if I can use Highlander again and find out what my speed limit is.'' I explained stretching my arms.

''Are you sure that's a good idea Mark?'' Nathalie gave me a worried look. ''I mean I understand, but two hours ago you collapsed on the floor with some pretty serious wounds.''

''Yi what do you think? If I meditate for a bit, would I be able to run at a high velocity?'' I took out my phone so Yi could speak up a bit clearer.

''You should be able to. The armor isn't in prime state at the moment though. Its functionality is about seventy-eight percent.'' Yi explained.

''That's all I need.'' I said fusing with Yi. I started to meditate for a bit, making me float in the air. This time it was Agnes who was gasping with excitement and wonder.

''How do you do that? Do you have a sort of anti-gravity module built in? Nonono that can't be it, you'd float off into space… Maybe… No…'' She started to ramble a bit before Yi interfered.

''Magic? That's what it is.'' He said.

''No magic isn't real. Everything has a scientific explanation. I just need time to find the right explanation.'' Agnes said furrowing her brows, deep in thought.

After a moment of meditating I felt better. The wound Viktor had made felt a lot better and my shoulder began to feel slightly healed aswell. I inspected the armor and frowned a bit at the black scorch marks on my shoulder.

''Don't worry I'll make sure to get those out before you use the armor again.'' Yi said calmly.

''It's not a problem Yi. It's just that it is my fault for getting it damaged and you have to fix it. It makes me feel bad.'' I traced my finger over the charred part of my shoulder and let out a sigh.

''No need to feel guilty, be proud of your scars. They are a sign that you are stronger than that which tried to kill you.'' Yi quoted. ''Now let's see how fast we can go.''

Agnes was busy typing things into a holographic menu, creating a speed gun. ''This should help.'' She said. ''Whenever you two are ready.''

I calmed my mind and took a deep breath, exhaling calmly. I let out a soft yell activating Highlander (last time I screamed because well... My skin was being burned away by a curtain metal squid.). I felt lighter and more agile. A few sparks were coming of the armor, signaling I was emitting a ton of power. I put my sword carefully on the ground and took a ready position at the starting line.

''You two ready?'' I asked Agnes and Nathalie. They both nodded.

Within a second of them nodding I started to run. I could feel the adrenaline flow through my body as I moved at an insane speed. After passing Agnes and Nathalie a couple of times I stopped running and stood next to them, deactivating Highlander.

''Well? How fast did I go?'' I asked excited. Both woman stared at me wide-eyed.

''That was about 400 miles per hour that's almost 650 kilometers per hour. And that almost without a sound.'' Agnes said staring at me. ''Are you feeling ok? You're shaking a bit.'' I looked at my hands and indeed I was shaking, not violently but it didn't go unnoticed.

''Well I…'' I started to see black stars clouding my vision. ''I think I need to sit down for a moment.'' My body began to stumble a bit until I fell backwards.

* * *

''Ugh where am I?'' I groaned and held my head with my hands. I noticed Nathalie look up from her phone.

''The med bay.'' Nathalie answered my question. ''Agnes is getting you some more food. Don't worry.''

''What happened back there?'' I asked her getting up from the bed I was laying in. Nathalie raised her hands unsure.

''Well… You fainted. You were running around 400 miles per hour using your legs. That would mean you burned through your energy rather quickly.'' Agnes said walking back into the med bay with a glass of water.

''What the hell? You guys put another needle in my arm?'' I looked at me arm which had a drip ( **AN: I'm unsure if this is the right term for it, but it's the only one I could find on the internet…)** in it.

''Well I had to refuel your body quickly. Fastest way to do that is to give your sugar's a boost. Are you diabetic by any chance?'' Agnes said putting the glass of water on the table next to the bed.

''Pretty sure I'm not diabetic.'' I said taking the glass of water and drinking it. ''Oh god this is disgusting, what is it?'' I said nearly spitting the fluid out.

''It's sugar water.'' Agnes said smiling at me. ''The drip is almost empty and your sugar's are balancing again, you just needed a bit more so finish that. Doctor's orders.'' She laughed a bit at her own joke.

I pulled the now empty drip out of my arm and put a bandage on the small wound. I felt my muscles scream in agony as I did so. I drank the rest of the disgusting mix of water and sugar with a disgusted face. I noticed Nathalie giggling at my disgusted face.

''What's so funny?'' I asked her smiling all the same.

''Well, you wanted to be the superhero right? This is the part you never read in the comic books.'' Nathalie laughed a bit. _Laughing at my misfortune again. How original…_

''I'm glad this is all so amusing to you.'' I said grabbing her by the waist and pulling her onto the bed with me, making her scream and laugh out of surprise. We rolled on our sides and looked eachother in the eyes. I moved a few strands of hair from her face, making her blush a bit.

''I'm just glad you're with me on this crazy ride.'' I said holding onto her waist. Nathalie let out a small sigh.

''It isn't easy, being worried about you almost 24/7 but I'll manage.'' She smiled back at me. ''I love you Mark.''

''I know Nath. I love you too.'' I said grinning at how cheesy we were being.

''Eghem.'' We both shot up at the sound of a familiar annoyed voice. ''You two done yet? I mean I got all the time in the world but it's getting late.'' Alisha said tapping her feet on the floor.

''How did you find us?'' I asked.

''Camille told me. I mean the workshop is always the first place I check out anyway.'' She shot Agnes a glare making the other woman look away.

''I need to make a couple of things clear.'' She said taking a seat next to us. ''One. You two will operate in your city, not here. Two. You will not interfere with my operations. Three. You will report to me atleast once a week, here at the base. And four. We'll supply you two with anything you need like accommodation, gear, money, medical care all that stuff. Am I clear.'' She said with a stern look.

''Yes ma'am.'' Nathalie and I said in unison, saluting her.

''Uhm ma'am, what do you mean by accommodation?'' Nathalie asked curiously.

''Well you two are clearly old enough to take care of yourselves and the data we have on you two suggests you both still live at home. So I thought maybe an apartment in the city would reduce the travel time towards here and give you more mobility in the city.'' Alisha explained.

''Sounds nice.'' I looked at Nathalie for confirmation. ''What do you think Nath? You want to give living with me a try?''

''I'd like that.'' She said holding on to my arm. ''But what am I going to tell my dad? He doesn't really like the idea of me and boys…'' She thought about it. ''Not to mention we've been a couple for like two days…''

''But he doesn't know that.'' I said smirking. ''Alisha do you think you can make it look like something our college offered us? That way we'll have our parents' support.''

''I'll see what I can do. You two just make sure you have your stuff ready to be moved to the apartment. Within a week.'' She said letting out a sigh. ''I'll handle all the paperwork for your recruitment, you'll just have to sign them in the weekend.''

''Seems like a plan.'' I said crossing my arms.

''That's pretty nice.'' Nathalie agreed with me.

''How about I give you two a ride back to the city?'' Agnes said. ''Alisha will finish up here.'' She motioned us to follow her. We followed Agnes and Alisha out of the med bay.

* * *

We watched the car with Mark and Nathalie leave the base. I felt like talking to Alisha. We hadn't talked in so long, I felt so happy when she asked me to come with her to the city today. It was stupid of me to think that it wasn't work related… _It's now or never Agnes, just talk to her already…_

''Alisha… I wanted to talk to you.'' I spoke up. My voice sounded unsure.

''Your addressing me informally. Please don't tell me you want to talk about your feelings again.'' She shot back at me.

''No ofcourse not.'' I said biting my lip. _Dammit…_ ''I noticed something strange when Mark was running around.''

''Something strange? Get to the point doc. I have paperwork to fill in.'' She said tiredly.

''Well… Next to the insane amount of energy he was emitting, there was something else. Similar to what Ekko talked about.'' I said mimicking Alisha's worried face.

''You don't mean…'' Alisha was interrupted by Ekko.

''The overdrive protocol.'' He said worried. ''If Mark learns to control it, everything will be fine.''

''And if he doesn't?'' I asked. ''I mean I did the math, but I'd like to hear it from you Ekko.''

''It's bad. That's all you have to know.'' Ekko said.

''We'll make sure he learns to control it.'' Alisha said. ''Well I'm off to fill in those papers.'' She walked off until she reached the elevator and turned around.

''And Doc…'' My heart sank as she said the next couple of words that left her mouth. ''You have to let go. This is over.'' She pointed at her and me. she got into the elevator waiting for the doors to close.

I felt an awful pain in my chest, tears streaming down my face as I collapsed against one of the pillars in the garage. _How could she say that… How could she be so cold about it… Doesn't she understand I still love her…_

* * *

 **WOOOO! I'm on fire ladies and gents. Things are coming together, Mark and Nathalie are taking the next step to become the city's heroes and The introduction of two new peeps. Don't worry about Agnes she'll keep on smiling and yeah I'm gonna be honest with you guys she's pretty much based on Mercy from Overwatch but with a bit of a twist to it I guess and a different backstory, don't worry she isn't going to end up being Swiss too… Or will she? Hehe. As for Alisha, she's a bit of a hard ass if you hadn't noticed yet. You could compare her to Gabriel Reyes a bit. But don't worry that's it! No more Overwatch references. Well maybe Camille being like Athena, but I like to see her more like Jarvis. Aha yes, little cheeky reference there. If only I could have seen your faces when you read the Camille part hehehe.**

 **I guess I'm pumping out chapters a bit faster than usual because I'm stressed about my tests next week xD. But hey I like to deliver good content to you guys.**

 **Lehnox I know what you mean by getting exited for the upcoming chapters! Almost all the pieces are coming together, just a few more chapters before shit WILL I repeat WILL GO DOWN.**

 **Aren't I the worst for hyping everyone up like this? (I hope)**

 **Lemme tell you: Yes, yes I am.**

 **Don't forget about the Discord server! Enter by typing in: discord dot gg /BWpaKr9**

 **Just remember to be respectful to others and don't be racist and we can all have a good time k?**

 **PSS. Whoops a lot of typo's slipped through, fixed them hehe xD**

 **Anyway my lovelies,**

 **Thanks for reading this chapter and I hope you enjoyed it and stick around for the next!**

 **Emerald out!**


	12. Chapter 12

PROJECT: Earth

Chapter 12: Overdrive

''Mark! You're going to be late for school again!'' My mother yelled from downstairs. I shot up from my bed and checked the time. Five pass seven. _Pfff I'll make it easily…_ To my surprise my body protested, my muscles screamed as I tried to get out of bed. _That's what I get for fighting Vel'Koz, no medal, no praise but more pain, delightful…_

I walked downstairs and noticed my mom drinking her coffee at the table, meaning she had a day off. ''Soooo, did you think about that mail I got yesterday?'' I asked her. _Hopefully she doesn't ask who I'm going to be sharing the apartment with…_

''Yes, I read the email you got. But are you sure you're ready for this? It's a big step.'' My mom said almost testing me if I really wanted to go. ''I mean you can still live in this house for free, with free meals and everything. You're going to have to pay for everything and do more things yourself.'' _Yeah, she was definitely trying to scare me into not going…_

''No I'm sure. School even pays for the apartment, I only have to buy food and keep it tidy. I can do that. Not to mention it's so much easier.'' I argued taking a sip from my tea.

''Well then you better start packing. You said they want you to move in by the end of this week?'' My mom asked.

''Ehmm, It's a last moment offer, I guess the other guy declined at the last second. Lucky me.'' I said smiling brightly.

''Just don't forget to visit from time to time.'' My mom said wiping away a small tear in her eye, her voice was brittle aswell.

''Oh come on mom, don't cry. I might be moving into my own apartment but that doesn't mean I'll be gone forever. Don't forget the spring festival is this weekend so you guys can come over and visit us at the apartment and we'll enjoy the festival together.'' I said hugging my mom who was still crying a bit.

''You got mom to cry, what did you do to accomplish that?'' Emily said walking into the kitchen.

''You ok to tell her mom? I'm running a tad bit late.'' I asked my mom who nodded in response. I dashed upstairs, cleaning myself up and putting on some clean clothes before running back downstairs, taking my bag pack and yelling a quick: ''BYELOVEYOUGUYS'' before storming of towards the train station in town.

* * *

I got closer and noticed the train still there. _This is my lucky day. I can feel it. I can make it. I can… fuck…_ The train departed right in front of my face. ''Oh come on!'' I yelled as the train drove off. _Dammit, dammit, dammit…_ I was mentally cursing (a lot more nasty words.) about the situation before Yi spoke up.

''You know for this one time, we could use Highlander to catch up to the train.'' He said.

''You mean it? It's a long run until the next stop, can we make it?'' I asked unsure. ''I mean Tuessday I blacked out after using it twice.''

''You'll just need to eat a bit more and you'll be fine.'' Yi assured me.

''If you say so.'' I said convinced. I looked around if anyone was watching and fused with Yi. ''Let's do this.'' I got in a start position, activated Highlander and began to run through the country side next to the train tracks. We were getting closer and closer to the train, I mean it's obviously we were going to pass it. A train doesn't really travel at four hundred miles an hour.

''Maybe Nathalie has a window seat.'' Yi said humorously. ''Are you thinking what I'm thinking Mark?'' I grinned at his comment.

''Sure I do, send her a text. Ask her on what side she's sitting.'' Within seconds we got a reply.

'' Left side of the train. Why? Where are you?! You're going to be late again aren't you?''

''Just send her back to look out of the window and check her laptop.'' I said grinning as I neared the train. I passed a couple of windows before reaching the right one. Nathalie turned her head as her laptop showed my POV. She laughed at me and gave me a thumbs up. I signaled her I would run to the next stop and meet her there. She smiled and nodded. I ran pass the train, an orange streak passing at near light speed. (Well not even close to light speed but it sounded pretty cool…)

''Mark you're nearing the next stop. You should try to slow down a bit.'' I heard Nathalie through my helmet.

''Nice of you to join us Nath. Did you see the show?'' I said laughing a bit.

''Yeah, I wasn't the only one though, tons of people took photo's of the mysterious orange streak heehee.'' Nathalie said trying to hold back a giggle. ''But seriously, you need to slow down now.''

I tried to slow down by putting less afford into my running but something was off. I wasn't slowing down. ''Uhm… Nath? We got a problem.'' I said. I could feel a strange sensation tingling in my body. The next thing I tried was deactivating Highlander.

 _The change of weight should slow me down a lot._ The armor changed into its metal form, but I wasn't slowing down. At this point I could already see the next stop coming up in the distance.

 _Oh crap, oh crap, OH CRAP…_ I noticed my hands emitting a neon orange light. ''Nath are you seeing this? Nath? NATHALIE?! I guess I lost contact…'' I began to panic which made me lose control. I began to zigzag a bit before falling down into a potato field and rolling a couple of times. I got up swearing a couple of times checking for any broken bones.

''Motherfucker that hurt.'' I said holding my arm. ''Yi, are you ok?

''Yes I'm alright. What was that?'' He said confused.

''I'm not sure but let's get the hell out of here before we miss the train again.'' I said jogging toward the next train stop.

Lucky for me it didn't take long for the train to reach the stop I nearly crashed into. I quickly looked for Nathalie and dropped myself next to her.

''What the hell is your problem?'' She said looking rather angry at me.

''What? I thought you were to one who broke the connection.'' I said trying to calm her down.

''Nope it was definitely you.'' She said crossing her arms.

''C'mon don't be that way, I couldn't help it.'' I said nudging Nathalie a bit, making her smile.

''Fineee I can't stay mad at you.'' She said inspecting me. ''But what did happen?''

''We aren't sure.'' Yi joined the conversation. ''Mark tried to slow down but he couldn't. Something else was moving him forward.''

''Even Yi isn't sure what it was.'' I said raising my hands in confusion.

''Mark your hand is glowing.'' Nathalie said pointing at me right hand. It was still emitting the orange light from before, symbols could be seen flowing around in the light.

''It looks like a code.'' I said quickly hiding my hand from plain sight.

''It's magic, the kind that was used on me.'' Yi said amazed. ''it must have passed on from my armor to you.''

''What does that mean?'' Nathalie asked.

''Well… I'm not sure.'' Yi said deep in thought. ''We'll have to ask Ekko, maybe he knows more.''

''So my hand is stuck like this? I can't walk around with a glowing hand! People will get suspicious.'' I said stating the obvious. I balled my hand into a fist and the light began to die down. 'What?!'' The light disappeared

''Ok, that was weird…'' Nathalie said baffled. ''How are you holding up anyway? You haven't used Highlander since Tuesday.'' After we got home Tuesday Yi insisted we take it slow after the whole incident with Vel'Koz and we hadn't trained the next day, to be fair my muscles did still hurt after a day of not training.

''I'll manage, I had breakfast this morning so I should feel fine after eating lunch.'' I said flashing Nathalie a smile. ''Like Agnes said, I move around a bit faster then other people so I just need to keep track of my sugars.''

''A bit faster he says.'' Nathalie joked, earning her a couple of laughs.

After our laughter died down I spoke up. ''Nath what did your father say about moving into the apartment?'' I asked curious.

''Well you know how he is. At first he was like: No and definitely not with that dodo around.'' I frowned at the comment. ''Not my words. Anyway, after I showed him Alisha's fake mail he had a change of heart.'' She said smiling at me.

''Sounds like we're in business.'' I said pulling Nathalie closer to me.

''Heehee stop'' She said nuzzling me a bit. ''I can't stick around after school, I got something I got to pick up. Sorry.'' She said looking up to see my reaction.

''Me too, I had it put away.'' I grinned as she pouted.

''And you can't come with!'' We said at the same time. ''Jinx!'' we started laughing.

''Did you get to packing yet?'' Nathalie asked after we calmed down.

''Yeah I packed the essentials. Alisha would do the rest right?'' I asked earning a nod from Nathalie.

''She said she'll get some people to move it tomorrow, while we're at the base.'' Nathalie explained.

''Don't we have classes tomorrow?'' I asked dumbstruck. ''Tomorrow is Friday right?'' Nathalie stared at me.

''We have Friday off? Hello? Spring festival on Saturday? Is anyone home in there'' She said knocking against my head, like she was knocking on a door.

''Ah I forgot about that.'' I scratched the back of my had in embarrassment. ''Well after we visit the base we could go out for dinner, who knows what time we leave there anyway.''

''Sounds nice. Maybe you won't run off to fight a giant mechanical squid this time.'' Nathalie teased.

''Oh before I forget, my mom and Emily wanted to spend some time with us at the festival. That isn't a problem right?'' I gave Nathalie a begging look.

''Damn, and here I thought I would have you for myself all day.'' She smiled. ''I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Ofcourse we'll spend some time with them.''

''Hey lovebirds, you're about to miss your stop.'' Yi interrupted us.

* * *

After school we took a different bus which would stop in the middle of the city, thus giving me a chance to pick up the sundress and hat for Nathalie. The only problem was that she took the same bus. _Great, now how am I going to buy that sundress for Nathalie? If I get out at the mall she'll know what's up…_ During my mental conversation with myself Yi stepped in.

'' _You could always get out of the bus one stop early and walk a few blocks.''_ He said.

'' _Not a bad idea at all, it's not even that much further anyway…''_ I thought facepalming '' _Why didn't I think of that?''_

'' _Because you were having a mental breakdown over nothing?''_ Yi said laughing a bit.

''Mark you ok? You've been rather quiet since we got on the bus.'' She said noticing me facepalm myself.

''It's nothing. I was just thinking about some stuff.'' I said looking at my open hand which lit up a couple of hours ago. ''I still don't understand what it is…''

''So it's about your hand…'' Nathalie said furrowing her brow. ''Yeah that sure was weird.''

''Well this is my stop.'' I said getting up from my seat next to Nathalie and walked towards the door.

''Mark, one more thing.'' Nathalie said holding onto my hand, preventing me from leaving. ''Promise me you'll stay out of trouble.'' I gave her a nod and a quick peck on the cheek before running through the bus. _Phew that was close._

''So, where to now?'' Yi asked curious. ''You talked about a dress Nathalie liked?

''It's a beautiful sundress with hat we saw when you were doing work on her laptop. It's inside the mall, a shop called 'The White Lotus', it really lives up to the name.'' I said walking over the market place.

Tons of people were busy setting up stands for Saturday. So Yi and I continued our talk mentally, so it didn't look too weird. ( **AN: I could just let Mark talk into his phone in public but it would make him look like one of those douches who holds his (or her) phone in front of their mouths. Ya'll understand where I'm going with this? Me neither** )

'' _People sure like this festival a lot…''_

'' _It definitely looks nice and colorful.''_ Yi said through our mental connection.

'' _Yeah but it's really meant for kids, I remember looking forward to it every year when I was a kid.''_ I thought back to the good old days. No assignments, no exams, no cyborg people from a different world…

'' _It sounds like you really enjoyed it back then, why did that change?''_ Yi asked interested.

'' _I guess I changed, the festival never really changes. I just felt too old for it I guess…''_ I stopped in front of the mall and actually thought about why I stopped going to the festival. _''I guess I just didn't want to spend time with my family. What a great person I am…''_ I replied feeling rather disgusted by my decisions.

'' _You don't have to beat yourself up about it. It's fine to think you're too old for things and want to have fun, but always keep in mind that you never know what will happen in life and before you know it you're out of time.''_ Yi said a bit sad. _''Learn from my mistakes Mark, so you don't have to make them.''_

''I'll keep that in mind Yi thanks.'' I said, a smile returning on my face. During the conversation with Yi I auto piloted straight into The White Lotus and hadn't even noticed people staring at me.

''Sir, can I help you?'' A shop assistant asked a bit confused.

''Wha? Oh sorry, yes I was looking for a sundress for my girlfriend.'' I told the girl. _''FREAKING AUTOPILOT MAN''_ I mentally scolded myself for making myself look like an idiot.

''Hmm, I'll go check in the back but I think we're all out of what you're looking for.'' The girl said walking into the back of the store. _crap_

''Oh, you didn't bring your darling of a friend this time?'' The clerk from last time walked up to me with the other girl following close behind. ''What a shame… It really looked like that dress was perfect for her, wouldn't you agree darling? He said looking at me. I just nodded at the tomboyish man's comments.

''So I guess that means you're all out of the dress I'm looking for?'' I asked him a little disappointed. _Dammit Viktor if I get my hands on you…_

''Well, we still have the one in the window in front of the store but I'm not allowed to sell that one.'' The man said, gripping his chin with two fingers. I dropped my head a bit in defeat. ''But, I could make an exception this time.'' He said smiling at me.

''Really? You mean it? Thank you a million times!'' I nearly yelled out in happiness.

''You need to promise me one thing though.'' The man gave me a sharp look. ''Make her feel special. I can see you love her but show her you care. Don't make her worry about you.'' The man said walking into the front of the store and took the dress and hat and packet them in two nice boxes. _What the? Does he know something? No how would he…_ I recomposed myself and smiled at the man.

''I will sir, thank you for making such a big exception for me. Won't this get you into trouble?'' I asked.

''Why would it? If I break one of my own rules, who's going to scold me? One of my employees?'' He chuckled a bit at his own comment. ''Now are you going to pay for that in cash or with a card?''

 _Rip savings…_

* * *

 _The following day…_

''Mark! There's a lady here who wants to talk to you!'' Emily yelled from downstairs. I got up confused from my computer chair and walked downstairs. I was met with a smiling Alisha standing in the doorway being interrogated by my little sister.

''Is Mark cheating on Nathalie with you?'' I heard Emily ask. I covered her mouth with my hand and moved her out of the way.

''Emily that's rude, miss Alisha isn't into men anyway.'' I said with an annoyed smile on my face making Alisha smirk.

''But who is she anyway?'' Emily continued asking.

''I'm the owner of the apartment, I'm going to take your brother and his girlfriend to the apartment so they can check it out and get the keys from me.'' Alisha said smiling at her. ''Do you have everything Mark?''

''Yep I packed everything for the movers so they can pick it up and take it to the apartment.'' I said getting hugged by my mom and sister.

''Don't forget to visit us when you get the chance.'' My mom said releasing me from the hug. I noticed Emily hadn't let go yet and looked down at her.

''Also don't forget your promise to me…'' the tone in her voice was serious.

''Ofcourse I won't forget.'' I said patting her head. She smiled at me and let go. ''Well I'm off to my new home.'' I said waving at my family and getting in the car with Alisha.

''She's annoying.'' Alisha said, her signature bored expression returning to her face.

''So are we going to pick up Nathalie next?'' I asked Alisha.

''No actually I had Henry pick her up a bit earlier.'' Alisha said.

''Any reason for that?'' I asked her a bit annoyed. I mean I understand Alisha doesn't like Nathalie but this is a bit extreme right?

''Not really, I just don't have much time. This wasn't really on my schedule.'' She said annoyed. ''Originally Agnes would pick you two up, but she's wasn't able to be here.''

''Why's that? Is she sick?'' I asked a little worried about her.

''No she's hungover. She was a bit depressed so she drank her sorrow away I guess.'' Alisha said with a bit of guilt in her voice and let out a sigh. ''If you don't mind I'd rather not talk about it.''

''That's fine but there's something strange I wanted to talk with you and Ekko about.'' I said balling my hand into a fist. _It seems I can't make it turn back on._ ''My hand emitted orange magic yesterday after I lost control of Highlander and crashed into a field.''

''YOU WHAT!?'' Alisha yelled looking over to me. ''You don't know how dangerous it is to toy with the overdrive protocol. You could have destroyed the whole damn city!''

''The what? I didn't even know it had a name.'' I said trying to make the magic appear again.

''It's something they did to Yi back in Zaun.'' Ekko said. ''You didn't tell them Yi?''

'' No, I didn't for their own good. I didn't know it would pass onto him.'' Yi said embarrassed.

''Wait you two knew this could happen?'' I said a bit angry.

''No, the four of us.'' Alisha said. ''Me and Agnes aswell. Agnes noticed it when you were running on the track.''

''Why didn't you warn me or Nathalie! I could have died!'' At this point my anger was boiling.

''Chill out Mark, we couldn't tell you two because you would freak out.'' Alisha said serious. ''What would you have done if you knew you had such power?''

''Try and control it.'' I said annoyed.

''That's what I was afraid of.'' Alisha said. ''You would have tried to control it outside of a controlled environment.'' I frowned at what she said. _She is right, god I'm such an idiot._

''Like I said yesterday Mark. Don't beat yourself up about it, you would have done it to protect others. That is what counts.'' Yi said trying to make me feel better about the choice I would have made.

''I suppose you're right. But is there more unknown things I should know about in the future?'' I asked him. ''What use is a bond if I can't trust it.''

''I mean it when I said I didn't know the overdrive protocol would pass onto you and I'm truly sorry for bringing you in danger by not telling you about it earlier.'' Yi said apologizing to me.

''Agnes get your ass to the lab, Mark figured out about the protocol…'' Alisha said talking into her earpiece. ''I don't care how crappy or drunk you feel. We need to run tests right now…''

* * *

''Can I stop running on this treadmill now? I've been running for almost an hour without any results.'' I said panting slightly. I looked over to behind the glass wall and saw Alisha shake her head.

''I don't think so. As long as I don't see the overdrive protocol, you're not leaving that mill.'' She said through a speaker. I noticed Agnes walk up to her and put a hand on her shoulder forcing her to look at her with a stern look. It looked like a pretty serious fight between the two.

''Uhm, guys? Hello? Please don't fight over this.'' I said turning down the treadmill.

An alarm went off and a red light began to shine inside the workshop. I noticed Alisha stopped yelling took off her clothes to reveal a special kind of suit underneath her regular clothes and fused with Ekko. She ran towards the exit. She turned around one last time to say something to Agnes before running off.

''Come on over Mark. We'll try again a different time.'' Agnes said trough the speaker letting out a deep sigh.

''What's going on?'' I asked slightly panicked by the alarm.

''It's just an alarm that goes off whenever there's trouble in the city, Alisha insisted you stay here.'' Agnes explained.

''Your little talk seemed pretty intense, you ok?'' I said putting my hand on her shoulder.

''It's that obvious isn't it? Heh, I'll be fine, I let myself go last night.'' Agnes said wiping away a tear and smiled at me. ''I still have some stuff for you two before you go to your apartment.'' Agnes signaled me to follow her.

We left her workshop and took the elevator back up to ground level. Agnes walked into a room she hadn't shown before. Bright lights were burning revealing an almost empty room. In the middle I of the room sat Nathalie playing around with what looked like a small drone. She noticed me and Agnes walking up to her and she got up, smiling bright.

''Mark where have you been? I arrived like two hours ago.'' She said pouting slightly.

''Me too Nath, Alisha made me do some tests to try and recreate what happened yesterday morning.'' I said stretching my legs a bit. ''I've been running for like an hour.''

''You mean with your hand glowing? What was that all about anyway?'' Nathalie said being tailed by the drone.

''It turns out it's called the overdrive protocol and it's rather dangerous. Alisha insisted I try not to use it in battle.'' I said worried. ''Were looking for a solution.''

We shared a worried glance before I spoke up again. ''What's with your little birdie companion?''

''Oh this is a field drone used by operators in the field and since you don't need it I thought why not claim it so I can have a better view of the whole situation.'' Nathalie explained proud of herself.

''I see… And how are you going to take that thing with you? It's huge.'' I said pointing at the drone which was about the size of a backpack.

''It folds back into a way smaller one dummy.'' Nathalie said making the drone land and fold into the palm of her hand. ''See? Compact.'' She said winking at me.

''Now Mark, the reason I wanted you here is because I still have something for you.'' Agnes said walking up to a plain wall and tapped on it. A vertical shelf opened showing a special kind of skintight suit.

''Suits?'' I asked confused. ''What do I need this for?'' I asked Agnes as she gave me one that wouldn't fit me in a million years.

''There adaptable under armor. Well that's what I call them.'' Agnes said smiling at her creation. ''Well come on put it on, there's nothing to worry about, they were created by yours truly.''

I stripped out of my clothes and put the armor over my underwear. I noticed Nathalie blush slightly. ''Oh come on Nathalie don't act so awkward. I'm yours now, no need to fantasize.'' I joked making her blush like crazy. ''Well Agnes what now? This thing doesn't really fit.''

''I'll just press this button and voila! Perfect fit.'' Agnes said pressing a button on the armor, making it tighten around my body into (you guessed it.) a perfect fit. It was a thin black armor which reached just underneath my knees and left my arms free like a t-shirt would. ''See how it isn't too long? That way you can wear almost anything over it.'' Agnes said crossing her arms

''This armor feels amazing, it's almost like a second skin.'' I said inspecting the armor, pulling the fabric a bit. ''What's it made of? Some sort of weird memory fabric?''

''Close but no, it doesn't remember your size but it does self-regenerate.'' Agnes said taking a knife out of her pocket and sliced the fabric apart. Within seconds the armor regenerated, pulling itself back together. ''Ekko helped me design it. It's made of a less sentient form of Zac. Pretty neat huh?'' She said smiling.

''Holy crap that's cool.'' I said looking at the armor regenerating itself.

''I didn't mention the best part.'' Agnes said. ''It's pretty much bullet proof, well human bullets.'' She said pulling up a bunch of photos from what I assumed where a bunch of Alisha's used armors. ''These ones were hit by Lucian. They completely lost their ability to regenerate. So be careful with them.''

''That's amazing. You truly are a genius.'' Nathalie complimented. ''Was there anything more we needed to know?''

''No not really, why?'' Agnes asked confused by Nathalie her sudden question. Nathalie looked at me with a smile.

''We had plans to go out to dinner but if you need our help we'll help.'' I said putting my clothes back on over the special armor.

''Nah, I wanted go back to bed anyway. My head still hurts.'' Agnes said holding her head with one hand. ''I'll make sure Henry brings you back to the apartment with the keys. You two enjoy yourselves.''

''Come on Mark! To the garage!'' Nathalie said wrapping herself around my arm.

 _Some things will never change will they?_

* * *

 **Yoooo what's up everyone it me with another update! I hope you enjoyed this little filler chapter, introducing a new problem for Mark and Nathalie to tackle together: The overdrive protocol! Boy let me tell you it's going to be a hell for Mark to control it. And here I hear you think: ''But Emerald, didn't Mark just learn to control his abilities? Doesn't the poor guy deserve some rest?'' and my answer would be ''HELL NAH'' Things are only going to get more exhausting for him from here on out. I'm kinda mean like that to my fictional characters…**

 **I also forgot to mention last AN that Agnes is maybe a bit of an alcoholic when it comes to her ended relationship with Alisha… Don't worry I'll cut her some slack from now on and focus it on Mark, hehe I'm just awful.**

 **So I actually cut back a bit on this chapter and didn't include the whole going out for a fancy dinner part. It most likely would have been boring and would have had a joke along the lines of a waiter asking Nathalie if she'll be taking the salad and Mark would be like: She'll have a steak aswell. That and most likely another Nathalie being addicted to cheesecake joke. But I just think that would make the chapter a bit too boring.**

 **Next chapter will include new villains and machines so that's a whole new (and better) reason to not include the dinner part. Those are the main reasons I cut that part out, so I can work on the next chapter for like two days straight and bring it to you guys before I have my exams next week and will succumb under stress and pressure.**

 **King Rude thanks for the kind words and I know your pain bro. The Chain Warden is one of my favorite and first fics I read like three or four years ago and is the main reason you're enjoying my work right now. As for your request, I'll try my best in later chapters! Next chapters will have some hints but nothing spicy I suppose…**

 **Don't forget about the Discord server! Enter by typing in: discord dot gg /BWpaKr9**

 **Just remember to be respectful to others and don't be racist and we can all have a good time k?**

 **Now my dear readers I must leave you be for a couple of days to work on the next chapter.**

 **Later!**

 **Emerald out.**


	13. Chapter 13

PROJECT: Earth

Chapter 13: Festival of chaos

I opened my eyes slowly and let out a soft groan as my eyes adjusted to the light in the bedroom. The apartment had a beautiful bedroom with large windows and velvet drapes, which Nathalie and I forgot to close last night after we got home. Not that it was a surprise, we were just a little busy with eachother.

I rolled over and carefully hugged Nathalie who was still sleeping. I got closer to her ear and whispered carefully. ''What do you want for breakfast?'' I waited a moment for a response but the only one I got was Nathalie shifting and murmuring a bit.

''Sorry I didn't catch that. Would you mind repeating?'' I said a bit drowsy.

''Eeeeeeeggs.'' She groaned half asleep. I chuckled at my girlfriend's request and got up. I picked up my discarded t-shirt from last night and put it on. I walked through to the bedroom carefully not to step on any of the other pieces of clothes discarded on the floor. Leaving a sleeping Nathalie in the bedroom.

I walked into the kitchen and started to prepare some eggs and bacon for Nathalie. While waiting for the food to cook I turned on the TV in the kitchen and searched for the news. _Maybe there's something about the attack from yesterday on._

I switched the TV over to the news and just like I thought there was footage being played of Alisha fighting with what looked like Mecha Kha'Zix? She was giving it to the mechanical bug. She was busy dodging every attack thrown her way and beating the crap out of Kha'Zix. The footage ended with her literally beheading the machine with one swift strike.

''As you can see ladies and gentleman, strange things have been happening around the city states. More and more of these characters seem to pop up every day.'' The anchorwoman said.

''Some of them seem to protect others and some seem to only cause trouble in our peaceful city.'' The other anchorwoman said. ''More news on these champion sighting after the break.''

I let out a sigh and put the eggs and bacon on a plate for Nathalie. I walked back into the bedroom and noticed Nathalie still sleeping in bed. _Time to have some fun…_

''C'mon get up, I got you your breakfast.'' I said earning a groan from Nathalie as she turned back to me, completely exposing her nearly naked back.

''Nooooo, lemme sleep.'' She said sleepily. I put the food next to the bed and got closer to her. I quickly pinched her butt making her shoot up.

''MARK WHAT THE HELL.'' She screamed covering her exposed chest with the sheets of the bed.

''Hmmm strange… That's not how you reacted last night.'' I said grinning. I grabbed the plate with food and gave it to her. ''Oh forgive fair maiden for my inappropriate behavior.'' I said bowing down before her grinning all the same.

''Sure, whatever just give me the plate.'' Nathalie said snatching the plate from my hands and chewing down on some bacon, pretending to be angry with me. ''Ah, I forgot how good of a cook you were.'' She complimented still chewing on the bacon.

''Heh, see? I can be a good boyfriend.'' I said dropping down next to her. ''Care to share that with me?''

''How about no? You had enough to eat yesterday.'' Nathalie said petting my exposed stomach. ''Wouldn't want you to gain weight and ruin that perfect body of yours.''

''Hey, easy on the sarcasm. That's my job.'' I rolled out of the bed and stood up. ''Well if you're not going to share I might aswell take a bath.''

''You do that and make sure the water's nice and warm.'' She said stuffing her face with egg.

''You know the tub is big enough for the both of us.'' I said poking my head back into the bedroom.

''Fine I'll join you in a second, you perv.'' Nathalie said, her mouth full of food.

''Just take your time and enjoy your breakfast. I'm not going anywhere without you.'' I joked readying the tub.

After throwing in a bathbomb I carefully felt if the water was too hot or not. The feeling of warm water on my cold feet was a great one. I took off my t-shirt and underwear and sat down in the tub waiting for it to fill up.

I heard a pair of footsteps pass the bathroom and the sound of a plate being put down in the sink. _I guess Nath decided it was time to get out of bed…_ The footsteps got closer to the bathroom again and this time the door flung open. Nathalie walked in and started to undress what little she was wearing and got in the tub with me, blushing slightly. She rested against me with her back before letting out a soft moan of approval.

''This is nice.'' She whispered, making herself comfortable in the tub.

''This is great. Heh remember Monday when you laid against me like this? Who would have thought you'd be doing it again by the end of the week.'' I said chuckling a bit.

''I'd rather forget that scary day.'' Nathalie said. ''Being a hostage isn't really my hobby.''

''The whole day? Everything that happened that day?'' I said nudging her a bit.

''No not everything you goof, most of it.'' We shared a couple of laughs before going back to enjoying the moment together. For atleast half an hour there was complete silence between us. Both of us where completely lost in the warmth of the bath (and eachother's company.).

Until my phone rang. I got out of the tub with a groan, dried myself off a bit and put a towel on, before walking into the bedroom and picking up the phone. _This better be important…_

''Hello, hello?'' I greeted the person on the other side of the call.

''Mark? It's mom. Emily and I are on the way over. We'll be there in about twenty minutes.'' My mom said happily. ''I hope I didn't wake you up.''

''Or interrupted something!'' Emily yelled.

''No it's fine. We'll be ready by then.'' I said. Searching for the two boxes with the dress and sun hat I bought for Nathalie and put them on the bed.

''Great see you later sweetie.'' My mom said hanging up. I let out a sigh and put away my phone. I picked out some clean clothes and put those on. I walked into the living room turning on the TV.

''Who was that?'' I heard Nathalie ask from inside the bathtub.

''My mom. She'll be here in about twenty minutes, so you might want to get dressed.'' _I forgot to tell Nathalie, clever…_

''Got ya! I'll be with you in a minute.'' Nathalie said cheerful as she got out of the bath.

I closed my eyes for a moment and readied for Nathalie to be amazed by my gifts. A few minutes passed and I heard the bedroom door open.

''Mark what are these boxes doing on the bed?'' Nathalie asked confused walking into the living room with the boxes.

''They're gifts I got for you. You can't go to the festival wearing the same clothes you did last year right?'' I quoted her.

''Oh no you didn't.'' Nathalie gasped as she opened the big box. She pulled the white dress out of the box covering her mouth with her free hand. ''Oh my god Mark. So you where the one who bought the last one.''

''What do you mean by that?'' I asked raising an eyebrow.

''Well… when I got to the store two days ago the man from before said he just sold the last one. I thought he was kind of a dick for laughing at me, but now I understand.'' Nathalie explained putting the dress on.

''Well what can I say, it really looks good on you.'' I complimented her. ''That and I felt bad for you. You're always so worried about me. So I hope this makes it up a bit.'' I said giving her a weak smile.

''Oh Mark it's perfect.'' She said hugging me tightly. ''I also got you something. Close your eyes, no peeking heehee.'' She said giggling.

''Ok, you can open them now.'' She said. When I opened my eyes I was met with something I haven't seen in years.

''My old leather jacket. Where did you find this? Not to mention how did you get it to look this nice?'' I said trying it on.

''Well when I stayed with you I saw it laying around your room and that gave me a nice idea for the festival since we didn't find anything for you in the city.'' Nathalie explained. ''So I brought it to a custom tailor and had it restored.''

''This thing has been through so much, remember the first day of college when I fell into the water at that survival activity.'' I laughed a bit.

''Hahaha, yeah it was completely ruined after that day. I knew you really liked that jacked. That's why I had it restored.'' Nathalie said smiling.

''It looks good on you Mark.'' Yi complimented. ''You two look nice together, almost like Lamb and Wolf with the black and white.''

''Who?'' Nathalie asked confused?

''Lamb and Wolf are the entities of death in Valoran. Lamb is the compassionate side and offers a peaceful death while Wolf is the less compassionate side, he chases prey that doesn't accept death and bites them to shreds.'' Yi explained. ''Now that I think of it, not the greatest comparison, hehe.''

''Well you didn't mention that the one is never without the other. That makes for a decent comparison, right?'' I quickly added.

''Yeah, that really sounds sweet.'' Nathalie said putting on the straw hat that matched her dress.

 _Ding-dong_.

We were interrupted by the doorbell. ''Hmmm. They must be early.'' Nathalie said. I opened the door and my mother and sister stood in the doorway. Both hugged me as I let them into the apartment.

''Wow this place is huge.'' Emily said looking around the apartment. ''Not to mention it looks expensive.''

''You guys have a nice few.'' My mom said looking out of the window.

''I sure do.'' I said looking at Nathalie.

''Hey lover boy, my eyes are up here.'' Nathalie said smiling. ''I know I look good.''

''You do look really nice Nathalie, is that a new dress?'' Emily asked her.

''Mark got it for me. You like it?'' She said twirling around, showing off every part of the dress.

''It looks beautiful. Especially with the hat.'' Emily complimented. ''Wait, Mark bought this for you? That can't be.''

''Emily don't you dare start something, were already running late as it is.'' My mom said giving her a serious look.

''Wait you guys were running late? We woke up like fifty minutes ago.'' I said scratching the back of my head.

''Man, it must be relaxed to be able to take it that easy.'' Emily said putting her hands behind her head.

''It sure is.'' Nathalie said putting on a pair of shoes. ''Now let's have some fun at the festival!'' She said throwing her hands into the air making the sunhat fall of her head.

* * *

''Come on! Come on! You guys are so slow! Hurry up were missing the parade!'' Emily said walking ahead of us.

''Are you sure she's fourteen? She acts more like an eight year old.'' I joked earning me a glare from Emily.

''For your information I just really like the spring festival. The parade is so colorful and happy and afterwards the mayor gives a speech, which is less Interesting but I guess it's tradition.'' Emily explained to me.

''Look there's some free space over there!'' Nathalie and Emily ran towards the spot between the hordes of people trying to enjoy the show.

'' _Emily wasn't wrong when she said that we were missing the parade this is the end already… ''_

'' _A shame really, everything looks nice.''_ Yi communicated mentally.

'' _The parade is one of those things you need to be really early for, otherwise you aren't going to get a spot.''_ I explained to Yi. '' _It's way too crowded for me, so I just stand at the side lines or just wait for it to be over.''_

'' _I noticed. The people seem really excited about the activities at the festival.''_ Yi said cheerful.

'' _You seem to really light up when it comes to these kind of things, you're enjoying yourself aswell aren't you Yi?''_ I said smirking.

'' _There's no need to deny it. Yes, I truly enjoy this. Seeing people enjoy themselves and spend time with their loved ones. It assures me we're doing the right thing fighting Viktor.''_ I smiled at Yi's comment and I had to say I agreed with him.

''Mark? Helloooo?'' A hand flew up and down in front of my face breaking up the conversation I had with Yi.

''Hmmm? What is it?'' I asked Emily and noticed my mom and her staring at me.

''I asked if you wanted to get some food.'' Emily said annoyed.

''Ehh sure let's.'' I nodded in agreement. ''Lead the way ladies.'' Emily and my mom walked ahead. Nathalie on the other hand held on to my hand.

''Where you having a conversation with Yi?'' She asked smiling at me.

''Indeed we were.'' Yi spoke up. ''This festival is nice. I told Mark I'm really enjoying it.''

''That's great!'' Nathalie said cheerfully.

''Hey lovebirds, you coming or what?'' Emily yelled from afar. Making us laugh in the process. _If only she knew how much I love Nathalie…_

After getting a bunch of food we looked for a spot to sit down. Tables were set up around a large stage for the mayor to give his speech and lucky for us there were still a few free tables. We sat near the stage, ready to eat when my phone rang again. _Strange, I've never seen that number before…_

''Hello? Who's this?'' I asked confused

''Mark… It's me…'' I heard Alisha her voice being interrupted by clashing metal and screeches. ''Are you at the festival?''

''Ofcourse. Why are you asking?'' I said slightly panicked at the background noises.

''I'm going to need your help. Get ready.'' She said weakly. I took off my jacket and gave it to Nathalie who gave me a confused look.

''It's Alisha, I need to go.'' I whispered giving Nathalie a serious look.

''Need to go where?'' My mom asked confused.

''Oh, eh… The bathroom ofcourse, I'll be right back.'' I said quickly walking off. ''Where are you anyway?'' I asked Alisha.

''…'' _Great, no response…_

A second after I put my phone away the mayor got onto the stage with a police officer in a trench coat. _Sounds like the mayor is about to start with the speech…_

* * *

I still sat with Emily and Lisa at the table. I tried to look just as confused as they were about Mark's behavior, the only problem was that I knew what he was going to do.

A shattering noise came from above the stage and screams of panic could be heard from the crowd. I looked up at the source of the noise as a figure was thrown onto the stage, leaving a large hole in the glass of the building next to the stage.

''Nobody move!'' A metallic voice called out from inside the building.

Three human size machines with large wings leaped out of the hole and onto the stage. Stalking and snarling closer to the motionless figure. The officer who I recognized as officer Michaels stood in front of the mayor who rushed to the figures side.

Another figure leaped out of the hole in the building, landing on the stage. This one was different, he looked more human than the other machines. What stood out the most was his large white pony tail. He pressed a few buttons on his arm as the three machines stood behind him, almost like guard dogs.

''This is what happens when you let humans handle your security.'' He pulled his giant blade and walked up to the mayor. Officer Michaels fired a shot at the figure who summoned a giant wall stopping the bullet.

I looked around and saw people in the crowd starting to panic and scream but obeyed the figure and stayed at their tables. I looked over to Emily who watched the scene with tears of fear in her eyes. Lisa looked at me worried as she comforted Emily.

''Foolish.'' The figure said walking closer ready to stab the officer. _Come one Mark, where are you!?_

The figures thrusted his blade forward aiming to impale the officer. Just before the blade connected an orange streak intercepted the blade knocking it away from officer Michaels. A gunshot could be heard.

* * *

The bullet from the gunshot imbedded itself through the armor into the under armor I was wearing, it blocked the bullet from reaching my skin but goddamn that was going to leave another bruise.

The three Kha'Zix replica's turned invisible at the sight of their masters new opponent. He raised his hand signaling them to stand down.

''So you're the new pest in town?'' Yasuo said interested. ''Impressive how you saved that man.'' He taunted putting his blade back into its sheath, creating an orange spark around the handle.

''Why are you here?'' I asked taking a battle ready stance.

''That is what you want to know? My motive? HA.'' Yasuo mocked. ''There is so much you have to learn.'' Yasuo said dashing pass me, pulling a his sword out of its sheath just far enough to cut me in my side. He walked pass me towards Alisha who still lay motionless.

''He isn't the only one.'' Alisha murmured as she pulled the cord of her Z-drive, turning back time around her. She landed back on her feet blocking the incoming stab from Yasuo who didn't seem surprised at all.

''Back to fighting dirty, I see?'' He said creating another windwall to block the incoming Timewinder thrown by Alisha. ''I can do that too.'' Yasuo said whistling.

The three mecha's deactivated their camouflage and jumped into the crowd, creating a frenzy within the crowd. I couldn't move as I saw the mecha's run at random people, wildly slicing around them.

''Kid! Go! I got this.'' Alisha yelled bringing me back to earth. ''This is no time for standing around!''

I jumped into the crowd, looking around for the nearest target. I noticed a little boy crying for his mother and one of the machines getting closer to him, claws extended.

I used Highlander to close the gap between the machine and me. I dropped my sword and slid underneath the machines legs and grabbed the boy just in time saving him from the claws of the machine. I ran up to the boy's mother who began crying at the sight of her son alive and well.

The mecha followed me and tried to slice an X shape into me. I blocked it with my arms, drawing a bit of blood. I pushed the machine back making it stumble backwards giving me a chance to deactivate Highlander and call my blade back from where I dropped it.

I noticed the other two mecha's had also shifted their attention from random citizens to me. _Good that gives the people a chance to run…_

''Well come on! Show me what you got.'' I yelled charging the one I had been fighting before.

One of them screeched and all three ran up, firing missiles towards me. I used meditate in response and blocked the incoming damage. Instead of exploding the missiles created a smoke screen when they came in contact with my shield. _These are decoys!_

Once meditates barrier fell all three Kha'Zix knockoffs leaped at me, ready to stab any part of me they could. I rolled out of the way just in time.

''There has to be a weakness to these things, any design flaws'' I panted.

One of the mecha's jumped through the smoke landing on top of me, digging its talons into the armor holding me down. It raised its claw at me, ready to impale my helmet, when a Timewinder hit it making it stagger backwards.

''The legs, kid! Aim for the legs.'' Alisha yelled through the smokescreen before a bright orange light could be seen through the smoke, silencing her.

I got back up and swept my blade through the legs of the staggered mecha. It fell backwards twitching and rolling around, unable to find balance on its weak stumps. My small victory was short lived as six pairs of missiles knocked me off my feet.

 _I can't stay in this smoke. They have a way too big advantage over me but if I expose myself Yasuo might join his mecha's…_

I had no time to think about a plan as a bladed claw imbedded itself in the ground where I was laying a second before.

* * *

People around me were screaming, yelling and running around like crazy. As soon as Mark had appeared to save officer Michaels, those bug like machines jumped into the crowd. Lisa and I made sure Emily was save, although we had to drag her along for a couple of meters.

''Has anyone seen my baby!?'' A woman yelled through the crowd. I looked around and noticed the little boy crying in the crowd.

My pulse spiked as I noticed one of the machines stalk closer. I raised my hand at the scene trying to do something. '' _What are you going to do? Run in and die?...''_ I balled my hand into a fist at my frustration but didn't dare look away, like I had hope Mark would notice. My silent prayers where heard when an orange streak blew past the machine and the boy disappeared.

''Nathalie! Come on! We need to get out of here!'' Lisa yelled, grabbing my shoulders. I looked over one more time and saw the woman hug her boy tight, tears of joy staining her eyes, before running off. Meanwhile a giant smokescreen had erupted on the makeshift battlefield.

'' _You don't have to worry about me all the time…''_ His voice rang through my head. I looked over to Lisa and nodded.

''We have to get Emily out of here.'' I said as we dragged Emily off. She also saw the scene before us, her eyes shining with a glimmer of hope.

''NO WE HAVE TO SEARCH FOR MARK!'' Emily began to struggle loose and ran off into the smokescreen.

''Emily NOOO!'' Lisa and I yelled shocked as she ran pass us into the direction Mark ran off in.

* * *

I had gotten back on my feet and was locked in a tango with the two mecha's. I had a few claw marks across my armor, nothing to serious. The plan right now was to wait out the smokescreen and kill the both of them when I could see them.

I heard a muffled screech and turned around blocking an incoming set of claws. I used Wuju Style, knocking the bug like machine away from me. Creating an opening for me to hit it. I aimed for the legs but the machine had already adapted to my fight style and sacrificed one of its claws to protect its legs.

I readied for the other attack which would come from behind, but it never came. The mecha Kha'Zix that I was fighting also turned his head and ran off. I was generally confused until I heard a scream of fear coming from where the Kha'Zix ran off towards. _Crap I know that voice…_

I ran out of the smokescreen to reveal Emily cornered by the two Kha'Zix mecha's. She walked backwards into a wall and began to cry. I activated Highlander again and ran at the two bugs, kicking the one furthest one away, flooring it and making it screech.

''You were fighting me. You ugly son of a bitch.'' I roared as I grabbed the other one by the wings and threw it into the floored Kha'Zix mecha. _How did I?!_ I looked down at my hands, which were once again emitting magic. _Alisha isn't going to shut up about this later…_

''Are you ok? What are you doing here? It's not save.'' I asked Emily extending my hand to her, helping her back on her feet.

''I hurt my leg, while looking for my brother. We got separated before the chaos.'' She hiccupped through her sobs. I couldn't help but smile underneath the helmet. A hiss came from behind me. I turned around and saw the mecha's slowly getting back up.

''We better get you to safety first.'' I said carrying Emily in my arms.

''Are you human? Or really from another world?'' Emily asked while I rushed her out of the battlefield.

''Yi! Over here!'' Nathalie yelled.

''Thank you a million times.'' My mother said smiling with tears in her eyes.

''You have to get out of here. The longer this fight continues, the more dangerous it will get.'' I warned. ''Now go! Get out of here.'' My mom quickly walked off with Emily in her hands, stopping a few meters later waiting on Nathalie.

''That counts for you too Nathalie.'' I said serious.

''Pff please I can handle myself. I saved your ass back at the museum.'' She said casually.

''Nathalie! Watch out!'' My mom yelled.

''HASAKI!'' Out of instinct I pushed Nathalie away towards safety as an orange tornado slammed me into the air.

''You should pay more attention to your surroundings boy.'' Yasuo said walking closer, dragging Alisha with him. I looked at Nathalie who was being dragged away by my mom.

 _Take care of her…_

I heard a thud as Yasuo threw Alisha in front of me and unsheathed his blade. The three mecha's stood down awaiting their masters order. I got back on my feet and checked if Alisha was ok. She let out a groan of pain in response. She looked pretty beaten up, some of her armor had cuts in it and her visor was broken.

''I know you can do better than her.'' Yasuo said. ''You have something special.'' He continued inspecting my armor. _He's obviously talking about the overdrive protocol_ …

''I won't let you have it.'' I said holding my blade above my head.

''Such a shame, you could have been a powerful ally.'' Yasuo said disappointed. ''Just like your Old man.'' I heard him whisper before he attacked.

I barely blocked the attack with an overhead block knocking his blade to the side. Yasuo predicted my block perfectly and dashed pass me as soon as I blocked. He ended up behind me giving him the opportunity to cast Steel Tempest. The stab barely connected with my back, sending me stumbling forward by the sheer force of the attack.

I spun around with my blade while activating Wuju Style again, forcing Yasuo to block the attack. He dug his feet into the ground to reduce the force of the hit, giving him a chance to withstand the power behind the swing.

''That's it. Let's see how much control you have.'' He murmured.

Yasuo took his blade in both hands and charged me. He swung overhead forcing to block the attack. Next he moved his blade leftwards as it was connected with mine, breaking my block and casting Steel Tempest again. The attack once again barely connected with my stomach, sending me onto my back.

I tried getting back up swiftly but Yasuo stood before me and kicked me in my face sending me flying backwards a few inches. My vision was a blur from the kick as I saw Yasuo ready to plant his sword into my body. I used my last bit of energy to activate Highlander and rolled out of the way just in time. I looked back to the spot Yasuo stabbed and noticed a small crater was created where my head had been seconds ago.

''Give up the overdrive and I might let you live.'' He said pulling his sword out of the ground. ''You'll have a good life together with your dog of a father in the holding cells.''

''What do you know about my father!'' I screamed as I charged Yasuo at insane speed. I struck him multiple times from all sides. Every attack was aimed to kill but every time Yasuo would move just in time, like he knew where the attack was coming from. Sparks flew off his armor every strike that connected.

''That's it, let it all out!'' Yasuo laughed before casting Steel Tempest's third attack, Gathering Storm behind him. In my blind rage I walked straight into it. I was thrown into the air and heard those awful words.

''SORYE GE TON!'' Every word Yasuo spoke was connected to a painful slice somewhere on my body. Everything around me was in slow-motion. In the air I noticed just how powerful Yasuo actually was. Then it struck me:

 _This wasn't a fight to him, he was holding back this entire time…_

Rubble from the ground mixed with blood flew in the air. My blood that was, I barely got a scratch on Yasuo's armor because of his protective shield. Yasuo finished his last attack he slammed me down into the ground. My body wouldn't move anymore, my spirit was completely broken.

''That's it then? You finally realized I was holding back?'' Yasuo mocked.

''Get up kid, you're not done yet.'' Alisha grunted.

''You again? Can't you just stay down for once.'' Yasuo walked over to her and slammed his foot into her stomach making her couch up blood. ''When will you heroes learn to give up and die?'' Yasuo said putting a bit more pressure on Alisha.

 _Alisha is throwing away her life! GET UP! SAVE HER! You wanted to be a hero? This is a part of it! Accept your fate and stand up, FIGHT!_

''Hey, were not done yet.'' I said weakly drawing my blade. Yasuo turned around genuinely surprised.

''I didn't know you had that much spirit. It's more than your old man.'' He said drawing his blade and pointing it at me. _I can't let that same taunt get to me… Not again…_

I charged Yasuo at blinding speed. The overdrive protocol activated and gave me the edge I needed to out speed his movement. My blade shined bright orange as it connected with his sword creating a small explosion. The sheer force send Yasuo and the mecha's flying backwards through the building they came from. I ran through the hole I accidently created and noted all four targets where gone.

'' _Goddamn portal grenades…''_ I dropped my blade in frustration as I began to think about what had happened.

I barely heard the sirens in the distance getting closer to where we had been fighting. Black vans stopped around the area and out walked a group of medics accompanied by Agnes. The medics began to check up on Alisha as Agnes ran up to me. I was looking down at the ground, slightly shaking.

'''What happened here!? Are you ok!?'' She put her hand on my shoulder, stopping me from shaking.

''They got him, Agnes.'' I said my voice getting brittle. I felt the tears burning in my eyes.

''WHO!? They got who?'' She asked worried.

I couldn't answer as I was almost choking on my own spit, tears streaming down my face as what Yasuo had been saying this whole time hit me like a truck. I felt Agnes hold me. She let me sob into her shoulder. I couldn't hold my frustrations back anymore. My sobs began to get worse as I cried like a child for his father.

''Shhhh. Were here for you.'' Agnes said trying calming me down.

* * *

 **Soooo? What did I tell you guys? I was going to work hard to get you guys another chapter right? HAPPY (late) EASTER everyone! It's a bit late but I got the chapter out…. It turned out freaking ginormous although I expected to hit 6 words this chapter. Meh you win some you lose some. Any way I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it!**

 **I don't really have much to say this authors note. Just that my exams are this week and I'll be working really hard and probably have no time to work on PROJECT earth for a while. (That's why I've been spoiling you guys with so many updates).**

 **Don't forget about the discord channel! It's great to be able to answer your questions directly and to have a chat with you guys! At the moment there's only one other person…**

 **Don't tell me you guys don't use discord? q_q**

 **So like always imma hit you with it: Enter by typing in: discord dot gg /BWpaKr9**

 **Just remember to be respectful to others and don't be racist and we can all have a good time k?**

 **That's it for now, I gotta go and not stress about my exams Kappa. I hope I'll have another chapter ready by the end of the week. Trust in me!**

 **Until next time!**

 **Emerald out.**


	14. Chapter 14

PROJECT: Earth

Chapter 14: Aftermath

I cried. I cried like I've never cried before. Tears of a mix of frustration, angst, sadness, pain and exhaustion all at once. He had him, Viktor had complete control of the situation. I felt two hands grab hold of me and pull me to the ground into a warm, loving hug, holding me, comforting me from my pain.

''Shhhh. Were here for you.'' Agnes said comforting me. One of her hands rubbed my back. She waited for me to calm down. A few minutes passed and I was slowly running out of tears as I started to think about Agnes her words.

'' _We're here… Alisha's here… ALISHA!''_ I slowly raised my head, carefully looking into the direction Alisha had been laying before.

''She's going to be ok.'' Agnes said looking over to the blood stained spot Alisha had been laying. ''A couple of broken bones and some internal bleeding isn't going to stop her. Trust me I know.'' She said giving me a comforting smile.

''Thank you Agnes… For this…'' I said weakly. ''I… needed it…'' I took off the armors helmet and wiped away the tears staining my eyes.

''So… what happened here?'' Agnes asked motioning to the holes in the building next to the stage.

''Yasuo happened. He had three mecha's with him. It was an assassination attempt before Alisha and I stepped in, I suppose.'' I said with a depressed tone in my voice.

''He was here to send a message.'' Yi said. ''This is what happens when you let humans handle your security.'' ''That was the message he was sending.'' Yi quoted Yasuo.

''But why? Why all this, just to send a message?'' I asked.

''Fear sends the strongest message of all.'' Yi said calmly. ''That's why he targeted the mayor.''

''If Yasuo works with Viktor, which is rather likely, Viktor will probably try to sell security robots to the city.'' Agnes said thinking. ''Giving him more control over the city.''

''We have to stop him!'' I said realizing the situation we were in. I tried to get back to my feet but to my surprise the armor wouldn't budge. ''Yi let me move.'' I said struggling inside the armor.

''No, you need medical attention and rest. Not to mention our commanding officer is hospitalized and Nathalie is probably worried sick.'' Yi said locking the armor, making me unable to move it.

''YI I SWEAR TO GOD!'' My rage was boiling. ''Look what he did! Look what he's capable of! We need to stop him before it's too late!'' I tried to force the armor to move.

''No, we need to fall back and rethink our strategy.'' Agnes said. ''Yi is also right, you need to rest and you're bleeding an awful lot.''

''I know it's hard Mark, but right now we have no other choice.'' Yi said disappointed. ''There's nothing we can do here. The longer we stay, the worse things will get.''

''But Viktor has my father! Why won't you listen to me! We have to…'' Yi was clearly sick of my arguing and snapped at me rather angry.

''NO, YOU LISTEN TO ME! GIVE UP MARK, THIS FIGHT IS LOST, WE NEED TO RETREAT.'' Yi yelled loud enough for everyone around to hear.

''I…I just wanted to…'' I looked down, rather embarrassed of myself. ''You're right… I'm sorry Yi…'' Yi defused with me.

''Good you finally came to your senses.'' Yi said calming down. ''We should find your family and see how they are doing.''

''But before you go let's get you fixed up, again…'' Agnes said smiling like always. Most of my wounds weren't too severe and were treated within a few seconds. The ones that stood out the most were the claw marks on both my arms and three deep cuts Yasuo had created with his ult.

''Why do you think Yasuo was holding back?'' I asked Yi. ''He doesn't really have a reason to go soft on me right?''

''That's where you wrong.'' Yi interrupted. ''If Yasuo kills you, he wouldn't be able to take the overdrive protocol from us.'' Yi explained. ''It would mean I would have to wait until I find another suitable bond, meaning that bond would have to get stronger before the overdrive protocol would reappear.'' Yi said.

''Mark you and I have a remarkable bond, it's almost like were identical. I wouldn't want to lose this bond.'' Yi sounded a little sad. ''So please listen to me when I say we need to rethink our strategy and fall back.''

''Yes I understand. I just… really want to save my dad, not just for myself but for the rest of my family aswell. It wouldn't be the same without him.'' I let out a deep sigh.

''You should be good to go home for now.'' Agnes said finishing bandaging me up. ''It really stands out to me that people who are linked with champions heal faster than normal people.'' Agnes continued talking to herself.

''You'll figure it out one day Agnes.'' I said, walking away from the destroyed stage area. ''Yi would you mind calling Nathalie for me?''

* * *

Lisa and I were waiting for the paramedics to finish checking up on Emily. As she was being helped Emily told the medics how she hurt her leg while looking for Mark and that Yi saved her. That he's the hero the city needs with all the champions showing up. I couldn't help but crack a smile at how excited Emily seemed about it all.

''Nathalie are you feeling alright? You nearly got caught in those things their crossfire.'' Lisa asked worried.

''You don't have to worry about me, I can take care of myself when it comes down to a fight.'' I said shadow boxing a bit.

''He mentioned your name, the one that saved Emily. Is he the same one that saved you before?'' She asked interested.

''Yeah, that's Yi. He risked his life for me back at the museum and a second time today.'' I said blushing a bit.

''Hey now don't go cheating on Mark with Mr. Hero running around the city.'' Emily said, carefully putting a bit of weight on her hurt leg.

''It's a pretty badly sprained ankle. Just make sure she doesn't put too much pressure on her leg for a couple days and if it isn't getting any better by then go see a physician.'' One of the paramedics said helping Emily stand up.

''Young lady you will never run off like that again, do you hear me?'' Lisa began scolding Emily.

I felt my phone vibrate, I quickly picked up the call and listened for a voice.

''Hey, are you doing ok?'' I heard Marks voice, although it sounded a bit shaky. I let out a sigh of relief.

''Yeah, were doing fine. Emily sprained her ankle pretty badly though, thanks to you it didn't get any worse.'' I smiled as I heard him chuckle a bit.

''I need to talk to you.'' Mark said hesitantly. ''We… We were right about my dad…''

''That's good news right? No need to give up hope now right?'' I said cheerful. _I can't believe we're going to save him…_

''Nathalie… I can't say more over the phone. You know how it is.'' Mark said sounding extremely depressed.

''Errrr… Sure where do you want to meet up?'' I asked confused at his choice of words. _What was this a secret agent flick? I can't say more on the phone, pfff_

''Let's just meet up at the apartment. I think I can make it that far without collapsing.''

''You poor thing, you must have used up all your energy trying to save those people…'' I waited for a response but none came. ''Mark? Mark!?''

''Yeah, yeah I'm still here I'm fine, it's just hard to focus right now.'' _He's lying, but why…_ ''So the apartment?'' He asked.

''Sounds like a plan. Lisa and I will make sure Emily gets there safe and sound.''

''I'll see you there.'' Mark said, hanging up. _He completely lacks his enthusiasm, something's not right…_

''Was that Mark? Is he ok? Is he hurt?'' Emily asked with a worried tone in her voice.

''Yes he's fine… I think. He wants to go back to the apartment, where it's save.'' I said giving her a worried look.

''Is something wrong Nathalie?'' Lisa asked worried. ''Did something happen?''

''I'm not sure, but he didn't sound like himself.'' I answered. ''Sometimes he's a complete mystery even for me…'' I said helping Lisa carry Emily.

* * *

I stepped out of the elevator and walked up to the apartment door, I fumbled with the keys looking for the right one. _It feels like I've been walking for hours…_ I used the doorknob for support and opened the door revealing a lit up apartment. My mom and Nathalie rushed to my side, noticing how beat up I looked.

''Sweetie what happened to you!?'' My mom nearly screamed as she and Nathalie supported me towards the seats near the kitchen counter, setting me down on one of them.

''I just tried to help people.'' I mumbled. _Yeah that's the way to make her not worry about you…_

''Look at yourself, did you run into those things aswell?'' my mom said holding a hand in front of her mouth as she inspected my bandaged body. ''Is that what you meant?''

''No, I saved a kid from one of those things running around the city.'' I groaned as the cuts that Yasuo created began to sting. ''That's why I wanted you guys to be here, it's safer here than out on the streets.'' I said avoiding my mother's worried gaze.

''Where's Emily?'' I asked panicked, my eyes darting through the apartment.

''Don't worry, she's sleeping in our bed right now. Poor girl was completely exhausted after what happened.'' Nathalie said carefully kissing me.

''Mom would you mind if I talked to Nathalie for a bit… Alone?'' I asked as my mother who just nodded confused and walked off towards where Emily was sleeping. After I heard the bedroom door close I got up from the seat I was sitting in.

''We were right about my dad. Viktor has him.'' I said serious.

''Here we go again. I thought I talked some sense into you.'' Yi said joining the conversation.

''You did, but Nathalie has a right to know what's going on.'' I replied angry.

''What happened during the fight? Why are you two suddenly arguing so much?'' Nathalie asked confused.

''I want… wanted to save my dad from Viktor but were in a horrible spot right now…'' I paused a few seconds letting out a sigh before summing up all the problems we had at the moment.

''Alisha is seriously injured, and probably will be for a while, Yasuo might be the strongest opponent I've ever faced, I can't control the overdrive protocol and we have no clue what Viktor is planning.'' I said regaining my composure.

''Wait what happened to Alisha?'' Nathalie asked worried about our boss.

''Agnes said Alisha had broken bones and internal bleeding due to her fight with Yasuo. But she'll be ok, it just needs time…'' I said crossing my arms.

''Then how are you fine? Well… as far as fine goes…'' Nathalie asked confused.

''He held back fighting me, they want the overdrive protocol so they can't kill me.'' I explained what Yi had said. ''Sadly we can't just barge into his hideout because they have my dad…''

''Things would get nasty real quick…'' Yi said clearly deep in thought. ''Right now the only thing we can do is wait for Alisha to get back on her feet and try to learn how the protocol works.''

''It's going to be rough but remember you guys, you got me!'' Nathalie said grabbing me into a warm hug.

''That we do. That we sure do.'' Yi said chuckling a bit.

I slowly returned the hug and rested my head against hers. I heard the bedroom door open and out limped Emily with her foot bandaged up.

''Mark!'' She said overjoyed. It took her a while to limp over but with the help from my mom and after a moment of limping she finally joined in on the hug.

''What happened to you, you little gremlin?'' I said hugging her tightly.

''Well after we got separated, there was this giant explosion and out of a building flew PROJECT Ekko and three Mecha Kha'Zix **(AN: Kha'Zixes? Kha'Zy? I don't even know… Just ask a fourteen year old what they would call multiple Kha'Zix…Oh god it's the Nasus thing all over again…)** and PROJECT Yasuo and Yasuo was going to kill a police officer and PROJECT Yi saved me him, and a little boy and there was a huge fight and Yi saved me!'' Emily explained everything super exited, like her near death experience never happened.

''Calm down there, gremlin.'' I said helping her onto the sofa. ''How about you tell me all about it over pizza, hmm?'' Emily's eyes lit up at the mentioning of pizza. **(AN: I mean cmon who's eyes won't light up when they hear they're getting pizza?)**

''Sure but you're paying!'' She said happily.

''Like I'm not used to that with Nathalie around 24/7.'' I joked earning a punch to my arm from Nathalie and giggles from my little sister. ''Fine, fine I'll get to ordering.'' I said joining in on the laughter.

After the pizza guy delivered the pizza, we all sat down on the sofa. Nathalie and I shared a large pizza and so did my mom and Emily, although Emily was way too busy telling me what happened.

''And then all of a sudden an orange streak blew pass Kha'Zix and saved the boy! It was amazing!'' Emily said excited. _It's weird listening to your own heroic's. Especially if the person telling them doesn't know it was you, heh…_

''But how did you hurt your leg?'' I interrupted Emily. I mean come on, I already know what happened after I saved the boy. ''I want to know what you were thinking when you carelessly threw yourself into danger.'' I said pointing a slice of pizza her way like I was pointing my finger at her.

''Well… I wanted to make sure you were ok, since dad is still missing and all.'' Emily looked at the slice of pizza in her hand. ''I just wanted you to be with us…''

''Oh Emily sweetie, Mark can take care of himself. You should have stayed with us.'' Nathalie said trying to lighten up the mood.

''Heh, yeah I guess you're right. I on the other hand tripped and hurt my leg…'' Emily said moving a few locks of blond hair out of her face. ''I saw a pair of creepy eyes come closer to me, I knew they belonged to one of those mecha's and began to crawl backwards until I hit a wall.'' Emily said taking a bite from her pizza.

''So? What happened next?'' My mom said on the edge of her seat.

''Well I cried out for help. I panicked when another pair of eyes stalked closer. I had attracted two out of three mecha's. I cried out for help again and before I knew it, Yi jump kicked one of them away and threw the other one into that one by grabbing onto the wings.'' Emily said mimicking the throw. ''He seemed surprised by his own strength and picked me up. I asked him a couple of questions which he ignored.'' Emily said pouting.

''I'm sure he didn't mean it.'' I said trying to grab another slice of pizza which was denied by Nathalie slapping my hand away. I gave her a bored look. ''Anyway continue, sorry.''

''Well after saving me, Mr. hero had a nice talk with Nathalie, you better watch your back Mark, Yi might be stealing your girl right from underneath your nose. He even seemed to know her name.'' Emily said grinning at me.

''Is that so Nath? When are you two gonna get hitched, hmmm?'' I said giving her a cheeky smile.

''Like I would leave you for a hero, everyone knows that a hero's girlfriend is always in danger. No thanks I'll try my luck with you ya goof.'' Nathalie said giving me a peck on the cheek.

''Well that's reassuring enough for me.'' I said pulling Nathalie closer to me.

''How did he know your name Nathalie?'' My mom asked her.

''Well, He was rather impressed with me when I saved his life back at the museum. We also talked a few seconds after what happened at the museum.'' Nathalie said carefully sneaking a glance towards me.

''So he does understand our language! I wonder why he didn't answer my questions…'' Emily said thinking of a possible reason.

''I could think of a couple of reasons.'' I said letting out a yawn. Emily just gave me the standard death glare. ''I know you care about me so that glare isn't going to change anything Emily.''

After my comment the room was filled with hearty laughter. _God how I wish you were here dad, you would have loved this…_

* * *

''Miss Agnes, the commander is asking for your presence in the med bay.'' Camille's voice woke me up from my nap against the wreckage of Battlecast Vel'Koz.

''Hmmm? Again? Tell her to ask for a different medical staff member, I'm busy.'' I said annoyed. _This is the third time tonight that she asks for me, I'm running out excuses to tell…_

''Miss Alisha asked specifically for you ma'am.'' Camille her voice rang through the lab.

''Ugh, fine. Tell her I'll be there in a minute.'' I looked at the big screen in the lab to see the progress on decrypting the data stored in the wreckage. _Almost done, maybe there's something about Mark's father on here._

I walked out of the lab and into the elevator. On my way up, I began to think about Mark, how he cried after his fight with Yasuo.

 _Poor boy, he's so young and has so much to cope with… Did I do the right thing to just let him go? What if he didn't listen to me and Yi? No, Yi would stop him… It's Mark, I'm sure he'll make the right decision… Right?_

I walked around the corner into the med bay, carefully sneaking a peek to see if Alisha was still awake. The medics had given her a ton of morphine to cope with the pain, they overdid it a bit after they fixed her up… Amateurs.

''Angieeeee… Is that you in the lab coat?'' Come into the light so I can seeeee.'' Alisha said sounding almost drunk. _She called me Angie, she hasn't called me that since… we broke up…_

''Yeah it's me sweetie, are your ribs hurting again?'' I asked with a bit of concern in my voice.

''Naaaa, I just wanted to talk to you.'' Alisha said raising a finger and moving it around, trying to point it at me. ''Standstill, I'm trying to point at you.'' I giggled at how high she was, it was almost like she cared about me again.

''Heehee stop it Alisha. What seems to be the problem?'' I said sitting myself down on her bedside.

''I'm in a lot of pain… How about you build me a new body, with green lights and silver plating. Like that Japanese guy from your video game…'' I raised an eyebrow at her strange comment.

''You mean like Genji? Why?'' I asked confused. ''Your body is healing great, within a few days you'll be walking again.''

''Well, you could be the hot blonde doctor he likes so much. Just thing about the possibilities Angie…'' She said making the shape of a rainbow with her hands before laying them down again.

''Heehee, Alisha your super high on morphine you don't know what your sayin…EEEEP.'' I yelped as I felt a hand grope my butt. I gave Alisha an annoyed look. ''Really? You're going to do that again? After all this time?''

''You used to like it whenever I gave you dirty attention back then…'' She looked away ashamed, almost hurt… ''I'm really sorry Angie… about the things I've said…'' Before Alisha could begin to ramble I put my finger on her lips, silencing her.

''Shhhh, me too. But things between us have changed… They won't go back to the way they were…'' I looked at Alisha who looked away hurt.

''But, I'd love to spend more time together and see where that leads us.'' I said giving her a warm smile. Alisha's eyes lit up with excitement. ''Get some rest commander.'' I said saluting her.

''Doc… I mean Angie, before you go would you mind coming a bit closer?'' Alisha asked. I complied and got as close as I could manage. Alisha carefully kissed me. A sensation I hadn't felt in a long time but I had to break it up, this wasn't right… yet.

''I-I better g-g-go commander, have a good night.'' I said nearly running off, leaving a confused Alisha behind. I ran back to the elevator and took a deep breath, while waiting for the elevator.

''Well that was interesting.'' Ekko's voice came from a speaker inside the elevator. ''I thought you guys weren't like that anymore?'' He said chuckling a bit.

''Apparently she still has feelings for me deep down, hidden away somewhere…'' I said taking shaky breaths. _This is affecting me way to much… I shouldn't take her back this easily, not after all the things she said…_

''Oh, let me tell you, I know she definitely has. There are days where she wouldn't stop talking about how you handle things.'' Ekko said almost sounding annoyed.

''Things? Like private things?'' I asked feeling my cheeks heat up.

''Oh god no! Not like that.'' Ekko said quickly. ''She just has moments of regret and loneliness.''

''Well she knew I felt the same way, I had it even worse than her. She knows how I am when it comes to these things, I can't handle the situation and just start to drink like there's no tomorrow.'' I said ashamed, walking back into the underground lab.

''Why are you with me all of a sudden anyway? Aren't you Alisha's champion? Why hang around me?'' I asked.

''Well, I noticed you were trying to decrypt the files of the Battlecast, so I thought you could use a digital hand, hehe.'' Ekko said appearing on the big screen in the lab.

''You're just sick of listening to her gibberish aren't you?'' I said with a cheeky smile on my face.

''You got me.'' Ekko said laughing nervously ''Now let's got to cracking this thing open.''

* * *

After an enjoyable evening with Mark's family, Mark and I stayed up for a bit longer, enjoying eachother's company. We watched some movie he insisted on although it didn't take long for him to fall asleep while holding me close.

 _He risked his life again today and the only thing I feel is pride… I'm so proud of him, is that weird?_ I felt Mark move a bit and groan lightly. _No, he's doing great… No doubt about it…_ Mark's grip around my waist became tighter. I looked up to see his brows where furrowed aswell. _He must be having a nightmare…_

''Mark, baby. Wake up. Your crushing me.'' I said carefully massaging his hands. His tight grip started to loosen up and his eyes opened slowly.

''Sorry, I was dreaming about this afternoon.'' He said rubbing his eyes slowly. ''I saw the little boy again and I… I wasn't fast enough…'' He moved one of his hands to cover his eyes, letting out a sigh.

''Hey, that didn't happen.'' I said moving his hand out of the way to reveal his saddened eyes. ''You did great today, there were no casualties and only a few people got hurt, including you, Emily and Alisha.'' I turned around and looked him in the eyes, carefully stroking his messy hair.

''But there will be a time when I'm not fast enough… and people will get hurt… I just hope it won't be one of you guys.'' He said gently grabbing my hands and rubbed them with his fingers.

''You're being way to serious for your own wellbeing. What happened today?'' I said making myself comfortable against his chest. ''You know you can tell me anything.''

''I just… let Yasuo get to me with his taunts. I nearly got myself killed, listening to a man who I can't trust but he... the way he talked about my father just… made me crack.'' Mark carefully stroked my hair. ''I'm ashamed of myself for letting that happen.''

''So what if Yasuo got to you… and besides we already knew your dad was being held by Viktor. This only confirms it.'' I said enjoying the attention I was getting.

''You don't know how much I appreciate your positivity Nath. I couldn't do this without you.'' He said giving me a weak smile.

''I know your lost without me, c'mon say it.'' I said nudging his side a bit. Making him laugh.

''Stop that!'' He said laughing. ''What do you want me to say? Please anything to make it stop.''

''Say it! Nathalie I'm nothing without you.'' I said turning my nudging into tickling.

''You complete me.'' He said before capturing my lips with his own.

The kiss combined with the comment surprised me. Sure I asked for him to say it but not like that. The final moment of my last relationship flashed through my head. Long story short I would have never gotten the guy to say something that serious.

After a moment we broke the kiss, making me pout slightly.

''Oh, now you're just leaving me wishing for more.'' I teased a bit.

''Well, we could skip the movie and continue this elsewhere.'' He teased back, picking me up bridal style. ''What do you think about that?'' He said giving me his typical goofy smile.

''I'd love nothing more.'' I said giggling a bit and returning the smile.

* * *

 **Hey what's up my peoples. I'm back from the hell I call exam week. I'm not out of the blue yet but I have a week vacation for now, so I got some time to work on the fic! I'm going to be aiming for two chapters in the upcoming week so you guys won't have to wait too long for the next chapter.**

 **Anyway enough about me and my goals for the week, thanks for reading the latest chapter! Mark is trying to deal with his emotions and so are Agnes and Alisha. Will Agnes be able to control herself around Alisha? Will Lisa and Emily find out about Marks secret? And when will I ever stop hyping you guys up for upcoming chapters? Who knows? ME ha! Sorry….**

 **So you know what time it is! Like always I'm gonna tell you to: Enter the discord channel by typing in: discord dot gg /BWpaKr9**

 **Just remember to be respectful to others and don't be racist and we can all have a good time k? We're having a great time but it could be even better with more people! So don't hesitate and come join us!**

 **Well my peeps that's it for this chapter! I'll be around the next time, like always,**

 **Emerald out!**


	15. Chapter 15

PROJECT: Earth

Chapter 15: Darkest night (part 1)

''Do you two know why I called you two here?'' Alisha said giving us a stern look.

''Not really professor Xavier.'' I said holding back a chuckle. Alisha was pretty much stuck in a way too small wheelchair until she recovered enough to be able to walk.

''Not. Funny.'' Alisha said giving me a glare. ''Don't forget who your commanding officer is.''

''Fine, fine it's just a joke.'' I said trying not to grin earning a shove from Nathalie. ''Sorry commander, it won't happen again.'' I apologized and quickly saluted her.

''Good now that we got your crappy jokes out of the way, let's move on.'' Alisha said annoyed. ''You did good yesterday kid but you still have a lot to learn.''

''What do you mean by that? Last time you said I had to work on controlling the overdrive and now I have a lot to learn all of a sudden?!'' I accidently raised my voice out of surprise.

''Nathalie told me about the nightmares you keep having, you're afraid to be too slow? That takes practice… a lot of it.'' Alisha looked over to Nathalie, who nodded in agreement with her.

''You don't have to give me that dirty look Mark, you said it yourself. You're afraid, which is natural. You have a lot of weight on your shoulders.'' Nathalie said giving me a weak smile.

''Fine… what are we going to do about it?'' I said crossing my arms.

''You and I are going to train, well I'll be training you.'' Alisha said putting a reassuring hand on my shoulder. ''Nathalie, Agnes asked if you wanted to help her out for a bit, while I'm working with Mark. She's in the lab, we'll be over in a sec, go on ahead.'' Alisha ordered. _She sounds different, less annoyed and almost happy… I wonder what happened…_

''Yes commander.'' Nathalie said saluting and walked out of the med bay which was turned into a makeshift office for Alisha.

''Now for your training schedule.'' Alisha said smirking.

 _I don't think I'm liking this one bit…_

''I'm going to break you.'' Alisha said.

''Because that doesn't sound ominous at all.'' I said a bit scared of what was coming next.

''Let me finish before you interrupt me.'' Alisha said huffing a bit. ''And we're going to build you back up from scratch.'' She said smiling at me.

''And how are we going to do that?'' I said interested in the rest of her story.

''Like I was saying, with a special schedule.'' Alisha said. ''I want you here every morning around 4 o'clock in the morning. You'll do a hundred mile run, you'll spar and you'll work on your body for two hours straight.''

''ONE HUNDRED MILES!? FOUR O'CLOCK!?'' I yelled. ''You must have hit your head too hard yesterday.''

''You're the one who runs four hundred miles an hour right? You should be able to clear it in fifteen minutes then.'' Alisha said uninterested in my distress.

''Fine but do I need to be that early? I have classes you know…'' I said trying to bargain a bit.

''Ofcourse, I understand college is hard. That's why I want you here early, so you have all the time you need. And if you don't fool around with your girlfriend all night you should have enough energy in the morning to get over here.'' Alisha said giving me a bright smile. _She planned every single response I could give her… Damn…_

''Ok I get it, there's no bargaining with you but how am I going to spar? You're in no condition to spar with me.'' I said pointing at Alisha's bandaged arm and ribs.

''Don't you worry about that, I got it all covered.'' Alisha smiled back at me. ''Now if you wouldn't mind, would you roll me towards Agnes her lab? She has some important news.'' I gave her a nod and walked her over to the lab.

When we walked into the lab I couldn't believe my eyes. The wreckage of Battlecast Vel'Koz was hooked up to the large computer inside the lab.

''Finally you guys showed up! I got some interesting news.'' Agnes said walking up to us, taking Alisha from me.

''We decrypted some of the files in de coding of Battlecast Vel'Koz.'' Ekko's voice could be heard coming from the screen. He pulled up a bunch of files on the big screen. ''This is the overdrive protocol. Well a piece of it…'' He said unsure.

''You mean Viktor…'' I said before being interrupted by Ekko.

''Yup, Viktor already has a couple of pieces of the puzzle. He has enough to make this monster of a thing work, imagine what he can do with the whole thing.'' Ekko said.

''I've also compared it to the readings I got from you, Mark.'' Agnes said pointing a pen at me. ''They're not that different, yours is just more complex.''

''And that means what?'' I said rather confused at the large sum of information I was getting.

''Meaning if Viktor got his hands on those remaining pieces, he would be able to power more dangerous machines.'' Nathalie said with a worried look on her face.

''Wait, wait, wait. Hold up. We thought the protocol was just a magical power from Valoran but Viktor uses it to power his Battlecasts?'' Alisha said annoyed. ''You lost me.''

''Pretty much yes boss. It is a magic power, but Viktor has found a way to created hextech in this world by combining the protocol with something from this world.'' Ekko explained.

''As far as we know.'' Agnes said unsure. ''We haven't figured it out completely.''

''You three better find it out then.'' Alisha said serious. ''Is the training room free?'' She continued. ''I wanted to start training Mark.''

''Ofcourse commander. Camille will help you out with any troubles.'' Agnes said pressing a couple of buttons on the console. ''All yours.'' She motioned to the entrance to the room.

Alisha brought up a console inside the room and typed in some coordinates, making the room change into a tropical island.

''Nice place, but why a tropical island?'' I looked around shielding my eyes from the sun.

''Well you're going to start with a hundred mile run. Giving me some free time so I might aswell enjoy it.'' Alisha said materializing a magazine to read. ''Waiting's in you, I got all day. If you run to the edge of the island and back you should roughly be at a hundred miles total.''

''You ready Yi?'' I said fusing with him, the armor shining in the sun reflecting it a bit.

''Anytime.'' He confirmed with me.

 _It's going to be a long day…_

* * *

 _I've been sitting here for almost an hour and neither Alisha or Mark have shown their faces. I wonder what is taking them so long…_

''Nathalie? Can you give me that stack of papers?'' Agnes asked. She noticed I was looking at the room Alisha and Mark entered. ''You want to take a peek inside?'' Agnes asked smiling.

I gave her a nod and gave her the papers she asked for. Agnes walked over to the door to the room and entered a code, unlocking it.

''Wait for me!'' A voice yelled from across the lab. A young boy about sixteen years old walked in. ''Angie where's my sister? I couldn't find her in the med bay.'' The boy asked a bit panicked. I giggled at Agnes her silly nickname.

''She's inside, come join us Damian.'' Agnes said opening the door to the tropical island. ''I completely forgot you were visiting today…heehee.''

''No problem. A lot happened yesterday, I got worried about sis and came over a bit earlier than expected.'' He said, walking into the room.

After adjusting my eyes to the bright sun, I saw Alisha barking orders towards Yi and Mark, who were busy fighting a digital copy of the machines from yesterday.

''That's enough for now kid! We got company.'' Alisha yelled as the machine lost its head to Marks blade. He looked over to where we were standing and gave a sheepish wave at the three of us before falling backwards into the sand.

I looked around panicked and noticed Alisha shaking her head at me.

''He's fine, don't worry so much.'' She said getting hugged by her little brother. Agnes also walked over to the hugging duo. I let out a huff and walked over to Marks collapsed form, casting a shadow over his head.

''What have you two been doing here all this time? It's been over an hour.'' I said putting my hands on my hips. ''Hey! Respond when your girlfriend asks you something!'' I opened a console and materialized a bucket of water and threw the contents over Marks face.

''COLD!'' He yelled as he shot up into a sitting form. ''Was that really necessary?''

''Ofcourse why else would I do it? Heehee.'' I helped him back up. ''Anyway follow me, there's someone I want you to meet.'' I walked off towards the trio talking underneath a palm tree.

''So that's them huh.'' I heard Damien say while inspecting Marks armor before sticking out his hand. ''I'm Damian, Alisha's little brother. Thanks for saving her life, she will never tell you herself so I might aswell do it for her.'' Both Mark and I shook his hand.

''Nice to meet you. This is Mark and Yi and I'm Nathalie.'' I smiled at him.

''You're his buddy right? I read the reports. You two are the only operators in the city right?'' Alisha glared at him after mentioning the reports.

''Have you been snooping around my office again?'' Alisha said trying to grab a hold of her brother. ''How many times do I have to tell you not to go into my office?'' Damian quickly hid behind Agnes as we all laughed at the scene before us.

''Geez give the kid a break boss. He can't help it that he's a natural infiltrator.'' Ekko's voice came from inside the room as his body materialized.

''Whoa! Ekko that's amazing!'' Damian said giving him a fist bump. ''When did you learn to do that?''

''Well I played around here last night while Agnes was working on the wreckage and found a way to give myself a body. Pretty neat huh?'' Ekko explained. ''Watch this.'' Ekko said typing in something and created a digital copy of Marks armor in the room. ''Well Yi? How does that feel?'' Ekko said giving the copy a toothy grin.

''WHAT DID YOU… This is amazing... I'm actually in control of this body…'' Yi said calmly inspecting his makeshift body.

''Heh, don't get used to it. What you're seeing is an extremely unstable copy of our bodies.'' Ekko said as his body began to disappear and only a green light remained. ''See? It only lasts a couple of seconds.'' The green light said as it disappeared into Alisha her phone.

''Still it's nice to be able to feel your own body from time to time.'' Yi said stretching his arms before his body also disappeared, his orange light returning into Marks armor.

''You didn't mess around with Camille's security override again did you Ekko? There's a reason to why I don't want you playing around with that.'' Agnes asked as the palm tree we were standing underneath began to distort.

''Is that the answer you were looking for?'' Ekko said a little embarrassed.

''Ugh, everyone out of the room. I need to fix this before the system goes haywire…'' Agnes said annoyed.

''I suppose that concludes today's training.'' Alisha said looking over towards Mark. ''Remember to be here tomorrow at four ok?''

''Yes ma'am.'' He said saluting her and letting out a sigh.

''Mark one more thing. How is your shoulder doing? You know after what happened with Vel'Koz.'' Agnes asked.

''Well the skin that was being affected has formed into a scar, like the kind of scar a burn leaves.'' He said looking over to me. ''Nathalie really likes it.'' He smirked at me, as I felt my cheeks light up.

''Any lasting soreness, pain or function loss?'' Agnes asked with a serious tone. We both shook our heads ''Good, I've developed some gel which should reduce the pain and or swelling. It might also keep the deconstruction from creating a scar, like you got.''

''I don't have any of those troubles, but I will definitely take some just in case we run into another Battlecast Vel'Koz model.'' Mark said putting on his jacket.

''You should be honest with Agnes. It is a bit sensitive when touched.'' I explained.

''Are going to be truly honest and also tell Agnes how we found out about that?'' Mark said putting his arm around me and pulled me closer.

''All I need to know is if it hurts or not.'' Agnes said giving me a reassuring smile, showing me it was fine.

''Nope I'm fine. Nothing to worry about.'' Mark said moving his shoulder slowly.

''Great and would you mind writing down a few notes about the training sessions you'll have with Alisha?'' Agnes asked Mark with a smile. ''For medical purposes ofcourse.'' She quickly added.

''Sure why not? What do you want me to write about in particular?'' Mark said laughing a bit at her comment.

''Most importantly I want you to write down how you're feeling and if your body shows any sign of giving out. Oh and write a bit about the training sessions themselves.'' Agnes said with an excited tone. ''Just mail it to me when your done with them.''

''Sure can do Agnes.'' Mark said pulling me along.

''Hey why the hurry Markie?'' I said mimicking that awful fake ass voice Roxanne always used when around Mark.

''Please don't do that. I really don't like being reminded of her.'' Mark said with a serious tone in his voice before continuing. ''Anyway, I thought you and I could get some coffee and maybe some cake?''

''Heehee, you sure know how to keep me happy.'' I said kissing Mark on the cheek before pulling him along towards the elevator.

* * *

1 week later…

I sat behind my desk in the lab, pretty bored and unsure what I was supposed to do. Mark and Nathalie weren't available because they both had classes to partake in. Alisha went home to rest a bit for a change and took Ekko with her. My only other option was Camille who let's face it is just an A.I. without any sass or personality.

 _I might aswell read a bunch of those reports Mark send me…_ I opened my mailbox on my pc and started to read through a couple of reports.

 _Report #1_

 _I'm a bit unsure on what I'm supposed to report but I guess it wouldn't hurt to give it a try… Alisha made me do another one hundred mile run. The only difference this time was that it wasn't on a tropical island but in a crowded city. Cars, busses and bikes coming out of nowhere to keep me sharp she says, heh._

 _Alisha complimented on my combat ability after the fight with Yasuo and with the mecha's. She insisted I fight two of those mecha Kha'Zix units at a time. She keeps saying I have to try and suppress the temptation to use the overdrive protocol. I got to agree it isn't easy, sometimes I lose control and the power behind my attacks are too much to handle. I guess I still have a lot to learn…_

 _Report #3_

 _I keep having these strange dreams. Things keep shifting between reality and Runeterra. Yi said they're just memories from his past he can't explain. Sometimes they're really sweet and happy but most of the times they're pretty dark. Torturing, painful implantations and devices being jammed into my… I mean Yi's body._

 _Training's getting pretty exhausting with the whole being here at 4 am part. My body is getting used to the hundred mile runs although my legs sometimes hurt after running from the apartment to here before I train with Alisha._

 _Combat training hasn't changed much. I'm starting to master Wuju Style. I'm able to keep it up for the intended duration. It's even occurred a few times where the overdrive protocol would strengthen a basic ability. Alisha gets pissed off at me every time it happens although I'm not sure what I keep doing to trigger it. I requested to have a day off so me and Nathalie can celebrate Emily's birthday which is coming up in a few days. It would be nice to be able to sit in a restaurant without me falling asleep during dinner. Too bad Alisha didn't make any promises, I can only hope I suppose…_

 _Report #5_

 _The strange dreams I talked about in earlier reports are getting worse. Sometimes they feel too real and I start dreaming actively. Just last night I accidently slapped Nathalie in my sleep, needless to say she was pissed. I had to sleep on the couch that night… Although she was angry with me she joined me a couple of minutes later because she felt bad for me. She seems to have caught on about the nightmares and is worried about them. I just tell her not to worry about it…_

 _Alisha changed the scenery from a city to a highway. The cars around me move a bit faster than the ones in the city so I have to react faster but it isn't really challenging much. I can feel myself moving faster and Highlander feels less energy consuming. I'm able to use it in short bursts aswell as use it consecutively. Woohoo on making progress…_

 _Combat practice is paying off. Alisha said she's seeing rapid progress and thinks she might be overdoing it a bit. I've been fighting three mecha's at a time since today and it really makes it more interesting. Alisha said she's kicking off the training wheels now and lets the mecha's go completely ham on me. No more safety protocols, if a hit's gonna connect it will at full force. I got to be more careful…_

''Hmmm maybe I should give Mark something to help him cope with the nightmares… Maybe some Lunesta… No that would only help him with falling asleep… How about Silenor? That should help him stay asleep.'' I murmured to myself as I walked out of the lab to write a prescription.

* * *

''What's the matter babe? Can't sleep?'' Nathalie asked curling up against me in bed.

''No it isn't that. I'm just disappointed that Alisha didn't answer me when I asked her about tomorrow. Emily will be sad if I can't come.'' I explained while grabbing a hold of Nathalie.

''Well when was the last time you checked? Maybe she send you a message? Who knows?'' Nathalie said enthusiastically.

''You're once again being way to positive about a hopeless situation.'' I chuckled and took a look at my phone. ''Well would you look at that…'' I said surprised.

''What!? Did I predict the future?'' Nathalie said mimicking my happy face.

''We can sleep late tomorrow, Alisha said she forgot to tell me she wanted to give me the day off…'' I said frowning a bit.

''Who cares? You got a day off training, that's great news!'' She said clinging on to me. ''So now that we got the whole night to ourselves, you wanna have some fun?'' I could hear Nathalie ask although my brain was already shutting off.

''Mark? Maaaaark? Wow I can't believe you fell asleep on me like that…'' Nathalie whispered as I felt her put her head on my chest. ''I guess it can't be helped.'' I heard her purr before I drifted off to sleep.

I woke up to the sound of a door being closed. I rolled around in bed to see if Nathalie was awake already, to my surprise she wasn't in the bed. Her side of the bed was neatly made with a little note on the pillow. I unfolded the little note and read it slowly.

 _Mark,_

 _I noticed last night that you where fast asleep, no nightmares, no nothing. You looked so peaceful ;) I decided I'd let you sleep late like you wanted. The problem was that you kept on sleeping, I left to get some fresh bread and even after almost being out for an hour you were still sleeping. So now I'm off to buy a gift for Emily for tonight. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine._

 _P.S. You better be awake when I come back!_

 _P.S.S. I took Yi with me to keep me company._

''Heh, she must have left a minute ago. It can't be helped I guess.'' I said getting out of bed.

I walked into the living room, rubbing my eyes. _Three in the afternoon already? Wow that was a good night's sleep. I better get ready for Emily's birthday party…_

* * *

''It was to be expected that you wanted to go to your favorite restaurant in the city. Which is nice for Nathalie and me too because it gives us a bit more time to get ready, and by us I mean Nathalie.'' I said pulling a seat back for Nathalie.

''Hey I didn't take that long to get ready.'' Nathalie said giving me a look of disbelieve as she took a seat at the table we were given.

''You were willing to debate with me whether you should wear a coat because the forecast predicted rain tonight!'' I said earning a snort from Emily and my mom. ''And even after all that you chose not to wear one because you'll just take my jacket if it gets too cold for you.''

''Maybe we should leave the old married couple to bicker a bit, what about it Emily?'' My mom said nudging Emily who was hiding a large smile behind her hand.

''We're not bickering!'' Nathalie and I said in unison before looking at eachother and started laughing for a bit until a waiter came up to our table ready to take our order.

After the waiter took our orders Nathalie quickly changed the subject. ''So Emily how's your leg?''

''It's great! I don't need the crutches the doctor gave me anymore and if I keep taking it easy for a while it should be healed within no time!'' She said gleeful.

'' _Mark, something is wrong…''_ Yi suddenly spoke up mentally. _''You feel it too don't you? That strange sensation in the air…''_

'' _I was afraid you'd say that.''_ I replied with a serious look on my face.

''Whoa! Check it out, something's wrong with the commercial signs outside!'' Emily interrupted, pointing at the signs outside the restaurant. The signs which normally showed off commercial adds distorted and displayed streaks of random colors.

''Mark don't… It's probably nothing.'' Nathalie grabbed my balled fist and gave a worried look, I let out a huff and relaxed.

'' _No, that isn't a malfunction! It's rogue magic… It can't be… But that power… Mark we need to go before…''_ Our mental conversation was interrupted by the magic distortion which chained from one of the signs into the neon sign of the restaurant, overloading it and making the neon glass break.

''It's probably nothing.'' My mom said brushing off what just happened. ''Nothing's going to ruin this evening.''

I slid my phone over to Nathalie. ''I had Yi type out what's going on, so they don't have to panic.'' I whispered to Nathalie who read the note Yi made. ''Would you kindly give me your purse so I can put on the under armor and go?''

''Are you sure it's Viktor?'' Nathalie whispered back. I just gave her a nod.

''What are you two whispering about?'' Emily said a bit annoyed. ''C'mon include us too! Pleaaaase?''

''I'm just going to use the bathroom.'' I said sneakily picking up Nathalie her purse on my way over.

* * *

Emily and Lisa once again looked at me with confused faces at Marks weird behavior.

''Believe me, I don't know what's going on either.'' I said scratching the back of my head nervously. Another spark of rogue magic zapped trough the restaurant, making the sprinkler system go off. All the customers quickly ran out of the restaurant covering their heads from getting wet.

''What was that!?'' Lisa yelled out in surprise.

I noticed one of the big commercial signs began to distort and display Viktor's real face.

''Most of you don't know me. But I will tell you this much, I am the one who was responsible for the attacks during the spring festival. If you fail to meet my demands tonight I will destroy the city with far more force than last time.'' His eyes began to glow a ominous orange.

''The one you idolize, the hero of your beloved city, the blademaster has something that is important to me and I have something that is far more important to him.'' The camera angle zoomed out to reveal Viktor standing with another Battlecast Vel'Koz model holding a figure with a bag over its head.

''Now 'Yi', you have one chance to give me what I want or else I will execute this man that is so dear to you and have my newest asset destroy the city.'' Viktor announced as the bag was pulled from the figures head, revealing Mr. O'Neill's beaten and bloodied face. One of his eyes was pretty much permanently closed and bruised and dried blood was all over his clothes.

''The choice is yours Yi. The protocol or the city. I'm done playing games.'' The commercial sign kept on repeating the same message, over and over again. Lisa and Emily both stopped moving completely. _They're both in shock, Jesus Christ this is bad…_

Footsteps could be heard coming trough the crowd. I looked over to Lisa and Emily who both turned around in shock as a hand covered Lisa's shoulder.

''Mom, Emily… I'm so sorry you had to find out this way… I wasn't ready to tell you guys yet.'' Mark said clad in his armor. Both Emily and Lisa didn't say a word as Mark walked over to me and put his jacket on my shoulders.

''I need you to take care of this for me.'' He said looking at the commercial sign with balled fists. ''Heh, I guess you where right when you said you would take my jacket…''

''You better come back in one piece you hear?'' I said hugging him.

''I can't make promises I can't keep.'' His voice was serious, so serious it was scaring me. ''I want you to take my mom and Emily to the apartment where it's safe. Take care of them…''

 _He isn't joking…_ I felt tears filling my eyes as he got to a safe distance, activated Highlander and ran off creating a few sparks of energy. My knees let out from underneath me and I fell to my knees, tears streaming down my face as I realized what he was going to do.

 _Oh god he was serious about it all…_

* * *

 **OOOOOOOOOH boyyy, there you have it folks the beginning of the end. Yes you read that right THE END, Kappa. We're nearing the end of the first season so to speak. If you're not in the Discord that might sound a bit weird but believe me Discord squad knows what I'm talking about.**

 **Anywho this is part of a three parter, probably -_- I'm not sure yet, I'm still thinking about it. I'll promise you guys this much, this week will have another upload. Part 2 will most likely be Saturday or Sunday depending on how much time I have (and how much I waste on playing games.), so Mark (hehe) it on your calendar!**

 **Discord link time! Like always I'm gonna hit you with it: Enter the discord channel by typing in: discord dot gg /BWpaKr9**

 **I'm thinking about sharing weekly drafts there, so for people who don't know what that means, it's basically a mental scene I wrote down for myself and might make work it into a chapter. There will be one new draft each week, I made a special 'drafts' folder on the channel so you can check older drafts there. Just remember to be respectful to others and don't be racist and we can all have a good time k? We're having a great time but it could be even better with more people! So don't hesitate and come join us!**

 **But that's it for this AN, until next time,**

 **Emerald out!**


	16. Chapter 16

PROJECT: Earth

Chapter 16: Darkest Night (part 2)

 **(!important side note! To truly destroy your feels I found a couple of songs to go with thIS chapter: my recommendations would be: Farewell Life by Arn Andersson and Nights Amore and Wish you were here by Ninja Sex Party, trust me on this one!'')**

''Mark we need to talk…'' Yi said, making me stop in my tracks. ''We can't just run in without a plan.''

''I know, but we have to save him whatever the cost.'' I said looking towards the CORE building where Viktor was most likely waiting on me.

''Mark, I can feel your frustration. You need to calm down and figure out a plan with me. Rushing in will get us all killed. Not just your father, but you and me too.'' Yi's voice wasn't the same anymore, the calm tone was gone and replaced with a worried one. ''I want to save him just as badly as you do.''

''I think I got something, but I'll need your cooperation. We should be able to pull this off.'' I said figuring out my plan.

''I'm listening.''

* * *

''Looks like that boy of yours is going to let you die.'' Viktor said looking over towards my father. ''And here I thought he actually cared about you.''

''Oh let me tell you he does, he's just not as dumb as you think.'' My father spat back with a grin on his face. The Battlecast pulled him up into the air by his arms making him wince in pain. Viktor walked up to my father ready to smack him with his cane.

''What was that? I couldn't hear you over the sound of your feeble human bones…'' Viktor was forced to sidestep my blade, narrowly dodging it. Instead the blade impaled the small version of Vel'Koz, making it drop my father.

''Don't. You. Dare. Touch him with your disgusting hands Viktor.'' I said glaring his way as I showed myself from my hiding spot.

Viktor recomposed his surprised form and stood up straight. His sharp eyes mimicking my glare. I recalled my blade and stood down awaiting Viktor's next move.

''Have you come to give me what I asked for? Or did you come to see this fool die?'' He quickly grabbed my father and used him as a human shield. His third hand charging up to fire Death Ray.

''I've come to give you what you asked for.'' I said balling my fists in anger. I threw my sword to the ground, showing I was willing to bargain with Viktor.

''Mark NO! Don't give him such power!'' My father yelled as he began to struggle in Viktor's grasp. Before being silenced by Viktor with a nasty blow to his head.

''Silence!'' Viktor yelled before looking over to me. ''Well? Show me you've got what I asked for…or else.'' Viktor said looking down at my father, the mechanical hand on his shoulder beginning to shine brighter. After making clear to me that the stakes where high, Viktor looked back towards me with an expectant look.

I held up my hand. I closed it and reopened it, creating a bright orange glow in my hand, surprising me a bit. '' _It worked!''_ The magic in my hand shone a bright orange and the magic flow created a few cinders flying up into the air.

''This is what you want right? The overdrive.'' I said making the light disappear. ''Is that enough proof for you?''

During my display of power Viktor stared at my hand. The look in his eyes was a mix of greed and amazement. ''Indeed it is.'' He said, throwing a knife my way, just like the one he had used back at the storage. ''You know what to do with that.'' He said awaiting my next move. ''Do anything stupid and he dies.''

I looked down at the special knife and took a few deep breaths. I pulled the knife backwards, ready to impale my skin with it. Right before the knife pierced my skin my father spoke up again.

''Don't you dare do it Mark!'' My father yelled at me. ''As your father, I order you to stop this right now!'' he started to struggle violently against Viktor's grasp.

To my surprise Viktor didn't stop him from talking this time. '' _It almost seemed like Viktor wants this to happen.''_

''If you do this… Viktor will destroy us all, this foolish sacrifice you're making won't matter at all!'' He said letting his head hang in defeat. ''Please listen to me… I know you're better than this.''

''I have to do this. I'm sorry dad, but it's the only way.'' I said pushing the knife into my ribs with a grunt of pain.

''Yessss, YESSSSS! Finally!'' Viktor laughed like a madman, releasing my father from his grasp, dropping him to the ground with a loud thud. I wanted to walk over to my father but was stopped by a gravity field.

''What!? What's the meaning of this Viktor!? You got what you wanted! Now keep your end of the deal!'' I yelled in anger as I struggled in the gravity field.

''Do you think I am that stupid?'' Viktor said walking over to me and grabbing my face. ''Did you really think? I was not expecting you to give me false information? To just let you walk out of here and live happily ever after? BAHAHAHAHA!'' Viktor broke out in laughter once again.

''Mark… What did you do?'' My dad asked, trying to crawl towards me. He desperately raised his hand, trying to grab onto me.

''You see Edward… Your boy thought he could switch out the code for an incomplete one, one they deciphered from the Battlecast model, the code you created.'' Viktor said pulling the knife out of the armor. ''He thought…'' Viktor stopped talking as he thrusted the knife into my flesh, making me yell out in pain. ''He could fool me, just like you did when you stole Yi from me.'' Viktor waited a moment and pulled the knife out of me.

Viktor looked over to me and spoke up again. ''Did you really expect me to just let you two walk out of here after I got what I wanted, Markus?'' Viktor said walking over to my father who was inches away from the gravity field, putting his foot on my fathers back. ''No. I will take everything from you and then I will watch you die, painful and slowly.'' He said firing Death Ray into my dads back.

I couldn't make a sound due to the fear I was experiencing. I could only watch in horror as my father was being tortured to death right in front of my eyes. The gravity field dropped me to the ground. I was finally able to grab my father's hand. He looked up at me with tears in his eyes.

Viktor suddenly stopped and opened a portal with a swift move of his cane. ''Until we meet again, hero.'' He said disappearing into the portal. I slowly got back up and carefully took my father in my arms.

 **!(So you should probably start playing Farewell Life here for maximum feels.)!**

''Ok, ok. Hold on, I'm going to get you out of here. You're going to be ok.'' I said nearly hyperventilating, tears in my eyes as I picked up my dad. ''I'm going to make this all ok. You just watch. It'll be fine.'' I said as my breathing hitched and my hands shook as I carried my dad. My legs wouldn't budge out of shock.

''Mark! Get him to a hospital, NOW!'' Yi pulled me out of my shock. I began to run, run like I had never ran before.

* * *

I walked into the hospital, carrying my dad. The other people waiting stared at me wide eyed, some were even filming the scene before their eyes. The nurses scattered, one looking for a doctor, another looking for a bed and yet another ran to my aid, asking me what happened. I couldn't talk. It was like my voice had disappeared and my throat was filled with knifes. One of the nurses came up with a bed and yelled at me to put my dad into the bed so they could treat his wounds.

After I laid him down, two nurses took my dad from me and rushed him away, deeper into the hospital. One younger looking nurse walked up to me and put her hands on my shoulders before shaking me around a bit.

''You're that hero everyone is talking about…'' She said in awe. ''Come, sit. Tell me what happened.'' She guided me towards an empty room and set me down in one of the chairs meant for visitors. ''Oh dear, you're bleeding I'll take care of it!'' She said noticing the cut in the armor and ran off.

'' _Mark… I'm sorry…''_ Yi's voice ran through my head. _''I… I don't know what more I could have done to help…''_ I looked down at my armored hands, covered in my father's blood.

'' _It's not your fault Yi… It's all my fault. I should have never trusted Viktor.''_ The nurse ran back into the room with some medical supplies. She gently grabbed my shaky hands, covering her own clean hands with blood.

''You're in shock. I need you to take a deep breath and calm down, listen to the sound of my voice.'' She said carefully squeezing my hands, hoping for a response. ''I'm going to treat your wound. Please don't make any sudden movements.'' She carefully covered a piece of cloth with alcohol.

''Wait.'' I said with a raspy voice as the nurse stopped out of surprise. ''Can you pass me that phone over there?'' I pointed at the phone next to the nightstand. The nurse took it from the stand and gave it to me. A small spark of orange light shot into the phone. ''Yi, call Nathalie. I need them here. All of them.''

* * *

I was responsible for taking care of them, but in the end Lisa and Emily had to drag me away from the restaurant. Before I knew it I was helped onto the sofa in the apartment where Emily tried to calm me down while Lisa remained quiet, her eyes never meeting mine. Emily would say things like ''It's going to be ok.'' And ''I'm sure they'll be back soon.'' Trying to get me out of this state of constant worrying.

I was scared, scared to lose Mark. Lose Mark just like how I lost my mother. I let out a shaky breath as I thought about what he said. _''I can't make promises I can't keep.''_ I felt a knot in my stomach. I would have cried if it wasn't for Emily's comforting.

'' _Are we just going to sit around? Or are we going to actually do something?''_ I told myself. _''Look at Lisa, she needs our help. Go on talk to her, she needs it more then we do…''_

''Lisa… I'm sorry for not telling you.'' I said looking down at my shoes. ''I should have told you about Mark.''

''No Nathalie that's not your burden. He should have been honest with us.'' Lisa spoke up for the first time after the incident at the restaurant.

''But you need to understand… He didn't want you to worry! Mark and I have been through a lot since this all started… and… and I'm not sure if we should have told you to begin with.'' I said still not facing Lisa.

''What is that supposed to mean!? Do I not have the right to know that my son has been risking his life to save others!? What if he died out there!? Would you have told me or would you have kept quiet about it!?'' She yelled with an angry tone.

''Mom…'' Emily whispered carefully inbetween Lisa's outbursts until she couldn't take it anymore. ''MOM! PLEASE LISTEN!'' she said looking over at me. ''Mark was trying to protect us. He didn't want us to get involved because… because they were looking for dad. Mark was worried about you, you changed ever since dad wend missing… like you were a different person.''

''Still. Lisa is right, Emily. We should have been honest with you two.'' I said ashamed of our decision.

''Nathalie… I'm sorry for my outburst. I guess I just… need time to take everything in.'' Lisa said joining me and Emily on the sofa.

''It's ok, like you said. He's your son and you have a right to know what he's up to.'' I said picking up my laptop and gave it to her. ''All of Mark's fights and training sessions are recorded on here. If you want, you can have a look but I advise against it… for now.''

We were interrupted by the phone of the apartment going off. We all looked at eachother with worried glances. I picked up the phone and put it on speaker. ''Hello?''

''Nathalie, thank god you're ok. It's Yi. We need you and the others here at the hospital. It's urgent, I'll send you the location.'' Before any of us could react, Yi hung up.

''Did he say hospital?'' Emily said sounding scared. ''W-why didn't Mark call…''

''No time for that! We have to go!'' I said walking towards the door. I turned around to see Lisa and Emily just stand there. ''Come on! We have to hurry!''

''Y-yeah ofcourse.'' Lisa said pulling Emily with her. ''We parked near the apartment, I'll drive.''

* * *

I sat next to my dad's bed holding his hand. The doctor who treated him said he didn't have much longer, it was a miracle he even survived this long. He was barely awake, breathing a little bit. He wanted to talk to me, but I told him not to speak. I told him to save his energy for when they all came so he could see them all one last time…

''Don't you worry… About a thing… Cause every little thing's gonna be alright.'' I sang 'Three little birds' for him softly through the silent sobs. He always loved it when I sang with him.

 **!(And start playing Wish you were here by Ninja Sex Party here for more feels.)!**

The door to the room flew open and in walked Emily and my mom who were both shocked at the condition my father was in. I stood up, making room for them to sit by his side. I looked over to my dad who gave me a look filled with satisfaction.

''Your… all here…'' My dad said relieved, his voice was weak.

I noticed Nathalie standing in the doorway hesitantly. ''No were not.'' I said motioning Nathalie to sit with me. She complied and we sat on the other side of the bed, listening to his last words.

''Hehe… I should have known you… You two…would…get together.'' My dad said with a weak smile. He looked over to Emily who was holding his hand. ''Come closer sweetie…'' He whispered something into Emily's ear making her smile and cry at the same time.

''I promise daddy…'' She said through the tears, nodding a bit.

''I'm so sorry Lisa… for this…'' he whispered.

''Oh Edward. I missed you so much.'' She cried into his shoulder before letting go so he could request one last thing. ''Mark… would you sing for me? One last time?''

''Any preferences?'' I asked trying to hold back tears stinging in my eyes.

''You know which one.'' He smiled at me. ''Like… I always told you.''

I cleared my throat a bit and tried to sing the best I could.

So, so you think you can tell  
Heaven from hell  
Blue skies from pain  
Can you tell a green field  
From a cold steel rail?  
A smile from a veil?  
Do you think you can tell?

Did they get you to trade  
Your heroes for ghosts?  
Hot ashes for trees?  
Hot air for a cool breeze?  
Cold comfort for change?  
And did you exchange  
A walk on part in the war  
For a lead role in a cage?

How I wish, how I wish you were here…

I couldn't keep going. The tears were already streaming down my face. ''Don't go, I can't do this without you!'' I pleated for his life. ''There's so much I want to tell you! There's so much I still want to show you!''

''It's ok slugger. It's my time to go…'' He said weakly before breathing his last breath. The heartrate monitor started flat lining letting out a long beep.

Nathalie pulled me closer to her, holding me as we cried together, my mother did the same with Emily. After almost an hour of weeping passed and a doctor walked in, asking for my mother. She got up and followed him as Emily came to sit with us.

''This is all my fault.'' I said just above a whisper. ''I should have never trusted Viktor to begin with.''

''What happened?'' Emily asked still hiccupping a bit.

''I tried to trick Viktor…'' Emily looked up at me with a disappointed look on her face.

''How could you!? How could you risk his life!?'' Emily said getting up from Nathalie's comforting embrace. ''How dare you!'' She said with new tears forming in her eyes.

''Emily I…'' I said weakly. ''I didn't have a…'' I was interrupted by her again.

''Shut up! JUST SHUT UP!'' Emily screamed tears streaming down her face. ''I'm ashamed to call you my hero… No, to call you my brother!'' She said running off.

I raised my hand trying to stop her but I was to late. I held my head with my hands. ''Dammit!'' I slammed my fist into the wall, startling Nathalie a bit.

''Mark… please don't.'' She said pulling me into a loving embrace.

''She's right Nath. I'm worthless, a screw-up. I couldn't save him.'' I said looking over to the empty bed where my father had been laying.

''Mark if it wasn't for you and Yi, Alisha would have been dead, I would have died and Emily would have been dead aswell.'' She forced me to look at her. ''I would have never loved you the way I do now if it wasn't for you saving me. Emily just needs time to process this all and so do we.'' Nathalie said pulling me back into the tight hug.

''I'll go look for her in a moment…'' I said returning the hug.

''Mark you need to see this!'' My mom said walking back into the room, turning on the TV.

Footage was being shown of a giant Battlecast Cho'Gath emerging from the waters in the harbor, munching down on a boat it took on its way over and crushing containers with its giant feet. ''BIO-FILTH FEAR ME'' it roared, firing rockets around the harbor.

''Nothing seems to stop this ginormous construction. Our corresponding crew has confirmed that this monstrosity is nearing the city. It seems our city's hero failed to deliver what the machine herald demanded.'' The newscaster said panicked as she looked at the footage herself.

''We need to interfere at once!'' Yi suddenly spoke up, startling my mom.

''It's not like anything else is going to stop Cho from eating everything.'' I said getting up.

''Mark, be careful out there ok? You still have a lot to explain.'' My mom said stopping me.

''I'll be back before you know it.'' I said hugging her. ''Nath can you try and calm Emily down?'' I asked fusing with Yi.

''Ofcourse I will… And you better make sure not to get eaten by that thing!'' Nathalie yelled at me. I gave her a nod and ran out of the room.

''What was that about Emily?''

* * *

'' _Mark we have a problem… Cho seems to have disappeared from the radar…''_ Yi said mentally on the way through the city.

'' _What do you mean 'disappeared'? Yi, Cho is the literally the size of a house! How did you lose track of him!?''_ I said in disbelieve.

'' _I don't know, but the news stopped reporting on it. Something probably happened…''_ Yi said sounding worried. _''So what now?''_

'' _Well Cho started his rampage in the harbor, let's follow his trail from there.''_ I said turning around running into the harbor.

The harbor was a horrible mess. Fires where all around, boats where either thrown on land or sinking. Storage units were destroyed by Cho's giant feet, some even had teeth marks in it. I was taking the whole scene in when a voice spoke up.

''Freeze! Don't you dare move a muscle.'' I turned around and was met with the police officer from the festival pointing his gun at me.

''You know bullets don't hurt me right?'' I said letting my blade float behind me and crossed my arms. ''A thank you is welcome too, you know? For saving your life?''

''I don't negotiate with vigilantes.'' He said putting his gun away. ''But thanks for saving the city… I guess.'' He laughed a bit.

''See that wasn't so hard. What happened here officer… What's your name anyway?''

''Michaels. Officer Michaels. I'm leading the investigation on you and those other freaks.'' Michaels said unamused. ''You people are making my job a hell of a lot harder.''

''Whoa there buddy, I'm not the one you're after.'' I said raising my hands in defense. ''I'm just here to save the city.''

''Yeah right. I bet that giant robot rampaging three block away is also yours.'' He said with pointing his fat finger at me.

''Ok, look. I'm already having the shittiest day of my life, so how about you get the fuck out of my way and let me do my job.'' I was starting to get annoyed. I pushed Michaels out of the way and got ready to head over to where Cho was rampaging.

''You better not get in the way of the national guard. They're already taking that thing down.'' Michaels said fixing his trench coat.

'' _Mark there is no time for arguing, if the military is fighting Cho at this very moment we need to get a move on at once!''_ Yi reasoned with me. _''This man is not worth our time, our innocence will be proved when we take Cho down!''_

'' _You're right…''_ I activated Highlander and ran off towards the sound of roaring and gunfire.

Within seconds I could make out Cho's giant figure with something in his mouth. ''Is that a tank!?'' Yi and I yelled in unison.

''This is going to be some shadow of the colossus shit right here.'' I let out a sigh as I ran up to Cho's tail and started climbing up.

''BIO-SIGNATURE DETECTED!'' Cho roared as his tail started to flail wildly. I planted my blade into his thick armor, creating a handle for me to hold on to. ''DESTROY!'' The colossus yelled stomping his feet, making the flailing of his tail wilder.

'' _I'm going to be sick after this…''_

A tank shell connected with Cho's unprotected underbelly making him stumble backwards, completely stunned. During the stunned moment I got an opportunity to climb higher. I pulled out my blade and ran up towards the exhaust on his back. It didn't take Cho long to regain functionality and started to lean forward, using his rockets to blow up the tanks.

''NOW YOU WILL DIE PROJECT SCUM!'' Cho roared as he turned around way faster than I had expected, throwing his tail through a building. Due to the power behind the turn I was thrown off his back and into the remains of a destroyed tank. I stood back up and narrowly dodged a pair of giant teeth. Cho'Gath moved back up with a tank in his mouth. ''NOMNOMNOMNOMNOM.'' He roared while eating the whole thing in one go.

''Mark? It's Nathalie! Do you have a plan to take that thing out!?'' A cam opened showing her face on the HUD of the armor.

''I'm working on it!'' I yelled dodging a bladed cannon from Cho. ''Try to get in contact with Agnes, maybe she's got something from that Vel'Koz model, anything would come in handy! A power source or maybe schematics… ANYTHING!''

''DON'T DISRESPECT ME.'' Cho roared biting down again. I jumped pass his jaws and made a cut in the pipes between his teeth. _''That's it!''_

''Nath what do you got for me?'' I asked quickly getting back up, once again dodging a blade.

''It's not much but it has a weak underbelly. The problem is that it is rarely exposed.'' Nathalie informed.

''Noted, anything else? Maybe a way for me to take out his jaws? Those pipes seem important…'' I asked running around Cho, forcing him to turn around in circles.

''You're right! They seem to be holding his lower jaw in place! Mark you're a genius! That would completely negate him from eating anything!'' Nathalie cheered, making me grin. _''Now to wait for him to use Feast again…''_

It didn't take long for Cho to get annoyed by me running around him. As I noticed he was getting ready to use Feast, I readied Wuju style in return. I dodged the set of giant teeth once again and sliced through one of the pipes. Cho let out a roar of pain as his lower jaw began to hang to the side, rendering it completely useless. ''JAMMING!'' his voice roared as he used Feral Scream, creating a soundwave which blasted me backwards.

''MARK! NOOO!'' Nathalie and my mom yelled.

''FIRING!'' Cho roared as one of his cannons began to charge up. A sharp ringing tone sounded through my ears as I held my head with my hands, screaming in pain. I looked up at Cho who fired one of his giant cannons straight at me. The power of the shot launched me backwards with high speed straight into a parked car. ''TARGET ELIMINATED.'' Cho roared as he turned his back to me and started to walk away, deeper into the city, laughing.

''MARK GET UP! HE'S GETTING AWAY!'' Nathalie her raspy voice rang through my helmet. I was in a sitting position, unable to move. I looked down at the wound I had gotten earlier tonight. ''Damn, reopened the wound.'' I said smiling.

''MARK YOU NEED TO HEAL! GET UP! USE MEDITATE DAMMIT!'' Nathalie yelled again. The cam on my HUD was distorting a couple of times due to the damage the armor had sustained, but I could clearly see Nathalie was crying.

''I will…'' I said weakly ''After a five minute nap…'' I looked up into a news helicopter's spotlight. ''Heh, a white light… how cliché.'' I said as my breathing started slowing down and my eyes slowly closed.

''MARK! NOOOO, NOOOO GET UP DAMMIT! DON'T GO TOWARDS THE LIGHT!'' Nathalie cried out in panic, she wasn't asking me to not go, but ordering me. Ordering me to stay with her.

''I love… you…'' I said before closing my eyes completely.

Although I closed my eyes, the light was getting more intense. I tried shielding my eyes from the light and before I knew it, it was gone. I was standing still in the destroyed city. Nothing around me moved. It seemed like I was stuck inside a strange circle. I walked up towards the edge of the circle and outstretched my hand to touch the black mist that marked the edge.

''I wouldn't do that if I were you.'' A kind voice called out from behind me.

I quickly turned around and was met with a figure. ''You!?''

* * *

 **!(Did the songs do a good job? I'd like to know)!**

 **HOLY HELL BOYS AND GIRLS WHAT A CHAPTER! I had an extremely hard time to write this chapter because I'm not good with feels but I think I did a decent job right? Right? Ok I'll stop… Like I said Lehnox, SHIT. IS. GOING. DOWN. Is it living up to your expectations? I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it!**

 **So yeah, let's be honest who didn't see it coming that I was going to kill off Marks dad? Wasn't it a bit obvious or no? I mean come on, Viktor is the biggest baddy around so obviously I had to make him show his true colors. Cho'Gath showed up and proves to be a challenge for Mark! And who is this figure talking to Mark? Find out next time (probably next week… I can't make any promises sorry.)**

 **I also got a review from Tourvelix. Did you remove your comment bro? or does Fanfiction just not show it for me? I'm not sure. So I'll put it in the AN because I think Fanfic is being a butt.**

'' **Tourvelix: I just want to see Nathalie help with the fight. I imagine her fused with Leona for some reason.''**

 **And to answer it:**

'' **SHHHHHH.'' You're making Discord squad overthink things…**

 **Talking about Discord made me think of something I always do. Oh don't give me that look you know what time it is! Discord link time: Enter the discord channel by typing in: discord dot gg /BWpaKr9**

 **I've decided that weekly drafts are a thing! So that's something to look forward to every Monday or Tuesday! Drafts can be found in the #general chat but can also be checked out in the #drafts channel where they will also be posted so new peeps who join can find it easier!**

 **Just remember to be respectful to others and don't be racist and we can all have a good time k? We're having a great time but it could be even better with more people! So don't hesitate and come join us!**

 **That's a rep everybody, I hope I'll be back next weekend with another chapter for you guys, but until that time comes:**

 **Emerald OUT!**


	17. Chapter 17

PROJECT: Earth

Chapter 17: Darkest Night (Part 3 finale)

''You!? The Kindred!?'' I said alarmed. ''Does that mean I'm… dead?''

''Indeed you are… for now.'' Lamb said inspecting me. ''Dear Wolf is your nose betraying you?'' Lamb asked confused as she turned to Wolf.

''Where is the Ionian!?'' Wolf roared flying over to me and started inspecting me. ''I'm certain I smelled him all over you.'' He said narrowing his eyes at me. ''You have to believe me little Lamb! His scent was all over the boy a second ago.''

''Child, care to explain the situation to us?'' Lamb asked kindly. ''Surely you know what is going on…''

''Well…'' I said rather nervously. I was still a bit alarmed by the fact that I was dead and Wolfs angry face inches away from my own wasn't helping either. ''Wait, hold on a second. Shouldn't you be asking me whether I want a peaceful death or not?''

''Child, this is no time for requests, it is one of answers. My respite protects you from passing, it is not your time yet. See it as a gift.'' Lamb said crossing her arms getting impatient with me.

''Well alright then.'' I said raising my brow. ''The reason why Wolf smells Yi is because he shares his power with me, so I can protect my world from rogue champions running wild here.'' I tried explaining.

''A noble cause.'' Lamb said deep in thought. ''See! My nose is not betraying me! That means I did smell that Demacian the last time aswell!'' Wolf roared, interrupted Lamb as he nearly flew into her face.

''Dear Wolf please, you know I always believe you…'' Lamb said letting out a sigh and covered her mask with her free hand out of embarrassment.

''So why are the reapers of Runeterra here?'' I asked confused. ''Because of the champions here? Is that why you two are here?''

''Indeed that is the reason why we are here and it is confusing us. Every time we track one down it seems to be the wrong person.'' Lamb shot a glare towards Wolf.

''That makes sense I guess. The champions that are in this world don't possess a physical body, so they share their power with humans from this world, making them able to use their power through a personal bond.'' I continued my explanation to the reapers.

''The power they hold is not of this world, it doesn't belong here! It must be returned to Runeterra!'' Wolf said sounding angry. ''Atleast that what Lamb says.'' He quickly added.

''But if you take Yi now Viktor will destroy the city and likely rule the world! Please don't take him away!'' I pleated with the reapers. Wolf began laughing at my pleating as Lamb just stared at him with a bored expression. (I guess, it's hard to see because of the mask.)

''We aren't here to take him away child, calm down.'' Lamb said calmly. ''We aren't?'' Wolf added surprised.

''No, dear Wolf. If we take the Ionian now we will destroy the balance between life and death in this world, thus making our job a lot harder.'' Lamb explained to Wolf who gave her a sad look in return.

''That is fine by me! More for me to rip to shreds! HAHA!'' Wolf laughed rather sinister. ''I bet tons of the humans in this world beg for a longer life!'' He continued, clearly enjoying every moment he imagined.

''Ehem.'' I cleared my throat, interrupting Wolf and making him glare at me. ''So you're not going to take my life and you're not going to take Yi from me, then why are you here?'' I asked more confused than when the conversation started.

''Like we said, it confuses us. The Ionian shares this bond with you correct?'' Lamb asked. I nodded in response. ''Due to your passing it seemed like he was passing aswell, drawing us to you.''

''But it seems he isn't dead, unlike you!'' Wolf added. ''Little Lamb why don't we just take this one's life? I crave a chase!''

''It is not his time dear Wolf. I did not bless him with my respite for nothing.'' Lamb added. _''Oh great they're starting to argue again…''_ My thought ran through the respite, clearly hearable to me and the Kindred.

''Know your place mortal!'' Wolf roared, while trying to lash out at me before being stopped my Lamb who held him by his shadowy pelt. ''He dares to disrespect us! Let me rip him to shreds!'' Wolf roared trying to chase after me, while Lamb held on to his pelt preventing him from doing said action.

''Dear Wolf this one is important to the balance of this world! Please contain yourself!'' Lamb said digging her hoofs in the ground, trying to contain Wolf. ''What!?'' Wolf and I both asked confused.

''Were you not listening to me when I told you about this world dear Wolf? You know what don't answer that…'' Lamb said with a bored tone in her voice.

''Wait what? Important to balance? I'm not Shen you know.'' I asked even more confused at what Lamb just said.

''It is all we understood from what our lost companion told us.'' Lamb explained. ''I did not understand much of it, how about you talk to him yourself. Maybe you understand what he has to say.''

''Ah yes that soul, I remember now. Why didn't I get to chase him around again?'' Wolf began to float around Lamb again.

''He accepted his death, dear Wolf there was no need for a chase.'' Lamb said petting Wolfs shadowy pelt.

''Then why didn't we finish our job with him?'' Wolf asked, clearly enjoying the petting of his fur. **(AN What? Can't one-half of the entity of death enjoy a good pet on the head from time to time? Nvm back to serious business.)**

''You smelled the Ionian and ran off without me.'' Lamb said putting her hands on her hips. ''You forced me to take him with us.''

''Would you mind telling me what this soul talked about?'' I asked tapping my feet on the ground. ''I've got a mechanical void beast to slay, that is if you decide to let me live.''

''I wouldn't mind a quick chase, Little Lamb can I…''

''No'' Lamb interrupted Wolf rather coldly. ''Now about talking to that soul…'' Lamb said while summoning a small blue orb from out of nowhere. The orb slowly began to form the shape of a human body. Until I could make out the persons face.

 _No way…_

* * *

I sat in the hospital room staring at the laptop screen in front of me. It displayed Mark's POV through Yi's armor. But there was no movement. Lisa sat next to me, one of her hands covering her mouth. Tears streaming down her face. Just an hour ago she lost her husband and now, only a minute ago her only son aswell.

''GET UP! YOU CAN'T BE DEAD! YOU JUST CAN'T BE!'' I screamed while shaking the laptop's screen out of panic. I felt a hand wrap around me. Lisa pulled me into a hug, letting me cry. ''He can't be gone… Not like this…'' I whispered through the sobs.

''He isn't dead.'' Yi's voice came from the laptop. ''But he's not unconscious either. It's almost like he's inbetween…'' Yi sounded deep in thought.

''What do you mean?'' Lisa asked confused.

''His heart is still beating, it's at a minimal but it's beating. Something is keeping him alive…'' Yi confirmed with us. I looked up at the screen. Mark remained motionless, making me worry.

''I-I just need a breath of fresh air.'' I said handing the laptop to Lisa. ''I'll be right back.'' I said almost running off. I walked through a long hallway until I reached the entrance of the hospital. I took a seat near the automatic doors, the place was nearly empty with the exception of a few people who were smoking and chatting with eachother.

''Well if it isn't little missy from the museum.'' I looked up from my thoughts at Michaels, who sat himself down next to me. ''What brings you here?''

''My boyfriend's dad passed away tonight.'' I said looking at the ground. ''He's having the shittiest day of his life right now.''

''I'm sorry to hear that.'' Michaels said. ''Well I better get a move on, I have a body to look at. Take it easy missy.'' He said walking into the hospital.

I let out a sigh and started thinking about Mark. _What if he's going to die? Yi said he's doing fine but what if?_ I moved a lock of hair out of my face with a sigh. _No. I can't think like that. He'll pull through, I should get back inside and see how it's going._

''Excuse me miss would you mind if I sit with you for a moment?'' A voice asked, the voice belonged to a older looking woman in a lab coat. _Probably a doctor…_

''Uhm, sure go ahead.'' I said motioning to the free space around me. The woman sat down rather close to me making me a bit uncomfortable.

''You seem troubled. What is troubling you?'' She asked readjusting her glasses.

''It's nothing to serious. My boyfriend's father passed away and he isn't taking it all too well.'' I lied a bit.

''I know that part dear. Did something happen between him and Yi?'' The woman asked catching me completely off guard.

''WHAT!? I don't know what you're talking about.'' I said rather loudly, quickly looking around me to see if anyone was listening in on our conversation. ''You shouldn't say weird things like that miss.'' I tried to recover from my surprise.

''No need to act so surprised dear, I know all about the situation Mark and Yi are in. They ran off to stop Cho'Gath in the city.'' She said calmly. ''No need to be worried, that pesky officer won't overhear our little talk. Look around you.'' She stood up and danced in the middle of the street.

''Time isn't moving?'' I said confused. ''Who are you? Another champion?''

''No, I'm but a messenger dear. My name doesn't matter.'' She said walking back towards me. ''Don't you worry, I have no foul intentions. I'm here to deliver something.'' She said putting her finger on the tip of my nose, annoying me.

''Look lady, I don't know how you're doing this but it's freaking me out.'' I said looking around me. _Time has really stopped, but that doesn't mean I can trust her…_

''Please excuse me for my mistake.'' The messenger said giving me a small bow. ''I'll get to the point of my visit in that case.''

''Please do.'' I said crossing my arms.

''Like I said I'm here to deliver something to you. But first I must ask you a couple of questions.'' The messenger said taking a small package out of her pocket.

''How do you feel about Mark risking his life?'' She asked walking around me like she was inspecting me. ''Before you answer, please note that lying isn't an option, I'll see right through them.''

''It worries me. Seeing him risk his life to help others worries me, but it makes me insanely proud of him aswell.'' I said heeding the warning from the messenger.

''Why does it trouble you so much? Him risking his life?'' The messenger asked.

''Because… Well… I don't know…'' I said thinking for the right answer.

''Bullshit, you know why.'' The messenger said sounding a bit annoyed. ''Let me rephrase my question. Would you help him if you got the chance?''

''Yes, a million times yes! I'd do anything to help keep him safe.'' I didn't hesitate for a second about my answer.

''And others? Like the people he helps? Would you do the same?'' The messenger said with a smile on her face. ''What about them Nathalie?''

''Ofcourse, if I had to power to help them, I would protect them all.'' I said, my voice filled with determination. ''Why are you asking me all this? What's the point?''

''Dear, you have passed my tests.'' The messenger said handing me the package she held. ''Follow me, and you may still be on time.'' The messenger said walking back into the hospital. I hesitantly followed the woman into the hospital.

''What are you going on about? What am I supposed to do with this?'' I looked down at the package the woman gave me. ''Hey! Don't ignore me!''

''All you need to know is that you should hurry up. Marks life depends on it.'' She said walking into a closed off room inside the hospital. ''We are here… Oh this room seems to be occupied already.'' The woman said looking at a small figure hiding in the corner of the dark room.

''I'll leave this to you.'' The messenger said before disappearing completely.

Time began to move again and the small figure cried a bit. I recognized the sound and squatted down to face the small sobbing figure. ''Emily, sweetie how long have you been hiding here? We've been worried about you.''

''Just go away. You two don't care about me at all.'' She said hiding her face. ''All you two care about is eachother.'' She whispered.

''What are you talking about? Mark is worried about you, he asked me to look for you.'' I said sitting myself next to Emily.

''See what I mean? If he cared at all he would have come looking for me.'' She said drying her tears. ''What's the excuse this time? Another attack on the city?'' she said sarcastically.

I looked away, afraid to tell Emily what had happened. She stared for a moment and spoke up. ''Don't tell me…''

''He's in bad shape. We don't know what's going on, he has been in a strange coma for some time now. I wonder how he's doing.'' I let out a sigh and looked at Emily. ''Would you mind doing something for me? After this all blows over, please forgive him for his mistake.''

''Is he going to be ok?'' Emily asked carefully.

''I don't know. I just… How about you go check in with your mom, I'll be right with you two.'' I looked at her, hoping she would leave.

''I… will. Don't take too long ok?'' She said getting up and leaving the room.

Time began to slow down once more and the messenger appeared again. ''Good, it seems we can continue.'' She said with a smile. ''What are you waiting for open the package!''

I quickly opened the small package and noticed inside was a small glass box with yellow streaks running through it. Immediately the box reacted with my phone and created some sort of adapter. I wasn't sure If I should connect the two and looked up at the messenger.

''Well? Go on! This room is safe. I'll make sure no one can come in until you are finished.'' She said telling me to hurry.

I connected the two pieces and was hit with a painful shock. I hit my head against the wall of the room and started to lose consciousness.

''Good luck Nathalie.'' The messenger said before disappearing again, this time for good.

* * *

 _No way…_ my thought once again rang through the respite. The orb began to form a human body, a rather familiar body. ''DAD!'' I yelled embracing the figure in front of me.

''Heya slugger.'' He said returning the hug. ''That was some good singing back there.'' He said breaking the hug with a grin on his face.

''Dad, c'mon this is no time for jokes. We're both dead…'' I said looking pass him to see Lamb shake her head and Wolf nodding his head violently hoping for a chase.

''Technically only I'm dead, I listened to the conversation you had with the Kindred, that's what you called them right?'' My dad asked me, making me nod in response.

''But maybe there's a way for me to take you back with me!'' I said thinking wildly about it. ''Could that be possible Lamb?'' I looked at her with hope filled eyes, only to have my heart broken by her answer.

''No, we can't let you do that. Your father as accepted his passing and will be send to the afterlife after this very moment.'' She said before being interrupted by Wolf. ''Even death cannot cheat death.'' He roared with a bit of sadness in his voice.

''I see...'' I said huffing a bit.

''Mark, you have to accept the facts.'' My dad said crossing his arms. ''I'm dead, there's no way to save me, there's nothing you can do about that but there are still things you have to do for me.''

''Like what? I am not capable of the things you did.'' I said still trying to find a way to take him back with me.

''That's where you're wrong kiddo. You have done so many things already, so many things I couldn't have done.'' He said smiling at me. ''I can see now that I did the right thing when I took Yi from Viktor.''

''So you did steal him from Viktor.'' I said dropping the thoughts about taking my dad. ''How did Yi end up with me?'' I asked curiously.

''I took Yi a long time ago, way before I was supposed to go back home. Viktor had more of them stored away, but I only got in contact with Yi through some weird person. Yi later filled me in on the situation back at the hotel I was staying in back in Japan.'' My dad explained.

''Yi never told me about the conversations he had with you.'' I said disappointed. ''He should have told me…''

''He couldn't remember, I erased it from his drive, the little box I send him in. It pretty much becomes useless after connecting it.'' My dad said protecting Yi in the process.

''I see… Wait you mentioned others! How many?'' I said changing the subject. ''It might help out a lot if I know.''

''Heh, good to see you're still sharp. Two others, a blue one and a pink one. There might be more scattered around the world but I'm not sure…'' My dad said. ''I'm sure you'll figure it out.''

''Edward, we're sorry but our time is running thin.'' Lamb said with a sympathetic voice.

''I understand. Mark, there's one more thing. I have a laptop stashed away at home with a lot of data stored on it that might help you out a lot.'' He put his hands on my shoulders and smiled at me. ''Take care of your mother and Emily for me.''

''I can't believe you're actually going to accept your death and just leave…'' I said wiping away a few tears.

''I know it's hard slugger but my decisions led me down this path. I'm sorry you all had to suffer because of it.'' He said walking up to Kindred.

''So Edward what is it going to be?'' Wolf asked. ''A chase?'' ''Or Peace.'' Lamb said finishing the sentence.

''I'll go peacefully if you don't mind. No offence Wolf.'' My dad said putting his hands behind his back. ''I'm proud of you Mark.'' He said smiling as Lamb readied an arrow on her bow and drew it back.

''Goodbye dad…'' I whispered as my father began to fade away in a blue light, leaving for good.

''We are sorry child, but this is the only way.'' Lamb said putting away her bow. ''It is like dear Wolf said: Even death cannot cheat death.''

''I know, it's just that… I'll miss him.'' I said putting my hands in my pockets.

''If it makes you feel better mortal know this.'' Wolf started a sentence. ''Death takes no pleasure in its job, but it is a job that must be done.'' Lamb said finishing the sentence again.

''We're sorry for the misunderstanding that occurred here tonight child. We'll send you back to your body now.'' Lamb and Wolf said in unison.

''What!? Right now? I-I didn't even get a chance to thank you two for what you did.'' I said shocked. I heard them both chuckle as the light began to intensify and after a brief moment I slowly opened my eyes to a familiar voice.

''Is he waking up? Mark? Can you hear us?'' Emily's voice rang through the helmet.

I shot up from the wrecked car, taking deep breaths. ''Kindred?'' I looked around looking for sign of either of the two reapers. _Gone… hmpf…_

''Kindred? What are you talking about? Mom and I have been talking to you for almost ten minutes, trying to get a response from you. You must have seriously hit your head or something…'' Emily said.

I stood up slowly, shaking my head a bit. In the corner of my eye I saw a bit of black smoke turn around the corner putting a smirk on my face.

''Mark I suggest you two take it easy, you got hit pretty hard back there.'' My mom said.

''We're fine actually. I don't know what happened but it seems like most of our wounds are healed.'' Yi explained. ''Mark what did you do?''

''I didn't do anything… It was Kindred.'' I said trying to not sound crazy.

''Like in the champion Kindred, the lamb and the wolf?'' Emily asked confused.

''Ofcourse those two, do you know any other Kindred?'' I said sarcastically.

''You two can argue later, we should focus on taking down Cho'Gath first.'' Alisha's voice rang through the helmet.

''Alisha? How did you get access to my armor?'' I asked confused. ''I mean not that I mind but an explanation is in order.''

''Agnes took the liberty to install the software Yi made in the communications center after what happened at the festival.'' She explained. ''Now get a move on! That thing is literally eating anything that doesn't fall out of its mouth.''

I stretched my body with a groan and picked up my sword. ''Yi mute all the conversations. I need to focus for this...'' I said activating Highlander.

 _No rest for the wicked I suppose…_

* * *

It didn't take me long to find the colossal Battlecast, I simply followed his trail of destruction. ''OBLITERATE ALL RESISTANCE!'' Cho's voice roared through the city as he crushed a military vehicle underneath his giant feet. Currently he was busy destroying a military roadblock which was meant to stop him I suppose? _Like that's going to stop something of that caliber…_

I ran pass the colossus at high speed and patted the commanding officer of the group of soldiers on the shoulder. Making him turn around slightly shocked. ''You want to focus on his underbelly after I expose it for you.'' I said before running of again towards the colossal destroyer. _I've got to take care of those boom boxes first, those were the biggest problem last time…_

''WHAT? YOU WERE ELIMINATED!'' Cho roared as he attempted to crush me underneath one of his giant canons. He raised his canon and looked underneath it, hoping he had crushed me with it. ''STOP HIDING PROJECT SCUM!'' He roared as he noticed I wasnt underneath it.

What he didn't notice was that I was hanging from the side of the canon he couldn't see. Cho searched for me and ignored the gunfire that was hitting his armored body. ''SHOW YOURSELF!'' Cho roared out in anger as I climbed up his canon using my blade. After scaling the colossus' arm I took a moment, readying to throw my blade.

''Only if you say PLEASE!'' I yelled as I threw my sword like a spear. Right into his left boom box, causing a small explosion on Cho's shoulder, rendering the boom box useless. ''WHY YOU PROJECT SCUM!'' Cho roared as he threw his arm into an office building, resulting in me being thrown through said offices.

''Shit that hurt.'' I groaned as I got up from a destroyed desk, dusting off a few splinters. ''Yi how are we holding up?''

''The armor is holding out at a solid twenty-five percent functionality, but I can sense you are running out of energy to keep this up.'' Yi said worried about me.

''Heh, I guess I overdid it a bit.'' I said walking up to the giant hole Cho had created by throwing his canon into it.

I was met with Cho's eyes peeking into the building. ''PROJECT SCUM PREPARE TO BE OBLITERATED!'' Cho roared readying a barrage of missiles but was interrupted by multiple rockets hitting him in his exposed underbelly, stunning him in the process.

''Thank god those soldiers listened to me.'' I yelled as I ran out of the building and onto Cho's head.

I recalled my blade out of the destroyed boom box and readied myself to throw it into the other boom box, I tried raising my sword when a sharp pain in my shoulder stopped me from throwing. ''You've got to be kidding me!'' I yelled as I noticed blood running down my arm. Cho began to move his head violently throwing me off balance and made me fall off his head.

In mid-air I felt a strange sensation flow through my body again. It felt more powerful than ever before. I thought about my dad and about what he had said to me before he disappeared. ''I'm proud of you Mark…'' I held on to that feeling, bringing tears to my eyes. The overdrive activated as I casted Alpha Strike in mid-air focusing on Cho. The empowered Strike dealing massive damage to Cho.

The first cut was made in one of his cannons creating a deep hole rendering the weapon useless, a second was created on his armored head exposing a giant motherboard, a third slice cut off his still functioning boom box and the last Alpha Strike send me completely off target and propelled me into the air surprising me.

I flailed for a bit while still going up before noticing I was in the perfect position to impale Cho's head. I let myself fall down with my sword pointed towards his head. To maximize the damage dealt, I used Wuju Style to make sure I'd cut straight through the motherboard.

My sword connected with Cho's head, destroying his motherboard making him slowly fall forward with me standing victorious on his head. I jumped down and dropped to my knees panting heavily. The remaining soldiers walked up shouting victory yells before being interrupted by the downed Battlecast.

''HA. HA. HA. HA.'' A ominous laugh came from Cho's wreckage. His mouth opened and showed a self-destruct mechanism. ''OH COME ON!'' I yelled casting Meditate. Instead I created an empowered version of Meditate, a protective barrier forming around me and the soldiers.

The explosion coming from Cho's wreckage was huge. The power behind the blast made the barrier crumble, I realized it was giving out right before the power of the blast threw me and the soldiers flying backwards.

I opened my eyes after being flung across the battlefield and let out the loudest scream of pain. I looked down to see my legs being crushed underneath a piece of wreckage from Cho's body. With my shaky hands I tried to move the piece of metal but my body began to give out slowly. I looked around me, searching for help and noticed fire was closing in around me.

 _Almost like a_ … _A fiery hell… just like that vision in the shower… So that's what that pain was…_

''Yi!? Yi!? Talk to me! I need you with me! Where are you!?'' I yelled out in panic. No response _... Well that's just great..._

My eyes darted from left to right, searching for someone, anyone who could help me. I noticed a faint yellow glow getting closer. Slowly I could make out the shape of a human body. My eyes where heavy and my breathing was slowing down. Before I passed out I saw the figure staring down at me.

''I got you.'' It said as it pushed the wreckage off my legs relieving me from the pressure. ''You're going to be fine. I'll make sure.'' The feminine voice said, lifting me up from the ground. I let my head hang and closed my eyes, letting the exhaustion sweep me away.

 _Yeah right…_

* * *

 **AAAAAAND CUT. End of scene. That's it for this arc lads! Next one's going to start next week, the start of a complete new arc.**

 **What happened to Nathalie? What will happen to Mark now that he's injured? Will Emily be ok? Will I ever shut up and go to bed? Yes after uploading this chapter for you guys. I don't really have much to say today. (AN 2.0. I do now! HA, I read the chapter and thought I'd change some dialog up, so I rewrote the last bit of dialog and fixed some of the typo's. There's probably even more but I'll find them someday. probably.) I'm pretty beat from not sleeping enough and stressing about my last exam this week (Aced it! Not really… But I did pas! Yosh!)**

 **Anywho…**

 **DISCORD TIME FILTHY ORGANICS! CHO'GATH HERE TO ADVERTISE THE CHANNEL FOR THE PUNY AUTHOR! ENTER THE CHANNEL BY TYPING IN: discord dot gg /BWpaKr9**

 **BE RESPECTFULL TO OTHERS AND DON'T BE RACIST OR I WILL FEAST ON YOUR BONES! HAHAHAHA.**

 **Get out of here you overgrown printer. Shoo you heard me! What he meant to say was that if you feel like joining the channel that would be appreciated. We're having a blast but it would be better with more peeps!**

 **Anyway that's it for this week. I'll get to working on the next chapter starting Monday when I my regular schedule resumes.**

 **Until next time,**

 **Emerald OUT!**


	18. Chapter 18

PROJECT: Earth

Chapter 18: Recovery

I woke up to the sound of birds singing outside my window. I slowly opened my eyes, messaging them directly after due to the brightness of the room. ''Why is there so much white in this room?''

''Good afternoon Markus. How are you feeling today?'' A female voice asked kindly. ''It has been approximately four days since your last Hex injection. In approximately three to four days you will require another injection.''

''Injection? What the hell are you talking about? I hate needles!'' I said trying to get out of the bed I was laying in. ''Where am I? What happened to me?'' I asked the voice.

''I need you to calm down Markus. Doctor' orders. At this moment stress is not what you need.'' The voice said as I noticed a mechanical arm with a needle slowly creep up from my bedside.

''Keep that away from me!'' I said trying to climb out of bed, but I noticed my legs wouldn't budge. ''WHAT!?'' I exclaimed, trying to get my legs to move.

''Markus don't make me do this to you.'' the voice said as the needle got closer to my leg. ''Your friends would be really sad if they found out about you waking up without them talking to you.''

''What? How long have I been out for?'' I asked dropping back into the bed. ''No need for that needle, see? I'm chill.'' I raised my hands, hoping the arm wouldn't sting me.

''That intel is classified. On doctors' orders.'' The voice said while the arm with the needle lowered.

''And where can I find this doctor?'' I asked a bit out of breath. ''Why do I feel so weak.'' I muttered.

''I contacted doctor Agnes when you showed signs of waking up, she will be here at any moment.'' The voice said calmly.

''Soraka, stand down, I'll take it from here.'' Agnes said, walking into the room before turning to me. ''Heyyyyy Mark… How are you feeling?'' Agnes asked avoiding eye contact.

''Well, I'll tell you what I'm not feeling, my legs. What the hell happened!?'' I said panicked.

''Yeahhhhh, about that.'' Agnes said still avoiding eye contact.

''WHAT. HAPPENED. AGNES. TELL. ME.'' I yelled through the room. ''WHY CAN'T I FEEL MY LEGS?''

''The bones in your legs got crushed after you saved the city from the Battlecast self-destruct.'' Agnes explained taking a seat next to my bed. ''We didn't have a choice but to take you here. This was the only place where I could try to treat you… but I still failed.'' Agnes said taking a hold of my hand.

''What do you mean, you failed? You're the smartest person I know. HOW DID YOU?'' I was about to yell again when Agnes squeezed my hand.

''Shut up for a moment.'' She whispered with a sad tone in her voice. ''I failed to heal your bones directly. It would take years for you to walk again, and even then…'' Agnes stopped talking and took a deep breath. ''I created hextech prosthetics to replace your broken bones, just the bones, nothing else.'' I began to calm down after hearing Agnes' explanation.

''Heh, still the smartest person I know.'' I said looking at my legs. ''But why can't I feel them?''

''Side effect from the medical induced coma you've been in, apparently hextech doesn't go well with the medication I prescribed, that's also the reason why you feel so weak right now. Because I kept you in a coma.'' Agnes said sheepishly. ''Ok, listen before you start yelling again. I consulted Nathalie and your family before the procedure. I told them about the risks and that it would be hard on you, but they knew it was the only way. I hope you understand.'' Agnes said looking down at her feet.

''I'm sorry for yelling at you. I should have known you wanted only the best for me.'' I said embarrassed. ''So why a coma?''

''Like I said you were in a bad shape after the explosion. I insisted we keep you in a coma before and after the procedure to… well… you know… broken bones hurt and your muscles need time to heal after the procedure. Even Nathalie agreed to it, knowing you'd be stubborn and try to walk prematurely.'' Agnes said trying to explain it the right way. ''They seem to be nearly healed right now, you PROJECT users sure are a special bunch when it comes to healing, heehee.''

''Thank you for saving me from myself. How long has it been since the procedure anyway?'' I asked letting out a yawn. ''And what was that A.I. talking about? A Hex injection?''

''Ah, Soraka has a bit of a blabber mouth sometimes, heehee. She's been keeping tabs on you since the procedure almost one and a half week ago.'' She said giving me a awkward smile.

''And the injections?'' I asked afraid of the answer.

''That's the problem with the hextech prosthetics. They requires magic to work so Ekko and I took a look into it. We created something that could substitute for the lack of magic. It isn't quiet as effective as actual magic but it will sustain you for atleast a week, we decided to call it: Hex, the perfect substitute for magic fuel. That's where the injection comes in.'' Agnes explained with a smile on her face.

''That's the genius I know.'' I said laughing a bit. ''Where's everyone anyway? Is it only you today?'' I asked letting out another yawn.

''Something like that.'' Agnes said getting up. ''You should get some more rest, tomorrow we'll see how well you can walk on those bad boys.'' She said putting a reassuring hand on my shoulder before walking off.

''Agnes, one more thing.'' I said sleepily. ''Tell everyone I woke up, I can't wait to see them again.'' I said, relaxing in the bed before letting the sleepiness take over.

* * *

I walked out of Marks room and out of the medical wing of the facility, thinking to myself what I was going to do about tomorrow. _Oh jeez, what am I going to tell him about Yi? Hey Mark, Yi hasn't spoken since the blast either, but it's great to have you back! God I'm in deep shit now. Maybe if I ask Nathalie to help me out…_

While walking into the training wing of the facility, still thinking about this dilemma, I accidently walked into Nathalie who was drenched in her own sweat.

''Agnes! I've been looking all over for you! Soraka told me about Mark! How's he doing!?'' She asked impatient.

''Well let's just say he fell asleep again after a short conversation. He took the talk fairly well if I say so myself.'' I told Nathalie with a smile. ''I'm going to start with daily therapy sessions starting tomorrow.''

''And about Yi not talking? How did he take that part?'' Nathalie asked with hands on her hips.

I haven't told him about Yi yet.'' I said looking away before taking Marks phone out of my pocket and holding it out to her. ''Maybe you should be the one to break it to him.''

''And why is that? This whole time you don't let me near him because of what's going on and now that it comes to bringing bad news you try to shove it one me? I don't think so Agnes.'' Nathalie said giving me a sour look. _Well this conversation took a sharp turn for the worst…_

''Nathalie we both know it would be better for him if he heard the bad news from someone close to him and since his mother and sister aren't options, I think you should do it, so he can find comfort with someone. I'm sure it'll help a ton.'' I explained with a sigh.

''No, It won't help… Mark isn't like that. So tomorrow during your little therapy session with him. You'll tell him what happened and I'll see what I can do from that point on. Now if you'd excuse me, I've got more training to do.'' Nathalie said walking off towards her room while mumbling some angry curses.

 _She has all the right to be pissed off at me for not letting her see him, I suppose… but it's not like I have a choice…._

* * *

''So… can I sit down for a moment?'' I asked catching my breath. ''This therapy session is taking a lot out of me.''

''Sure take a breather. You're doing better than expected by the way, the hextech prosthetics are working as intended and your muscles seem to have healed nicely.'' Agnes said putting a small tablet away and handing me a chair. ''How are you feeling? Any pain or soreness?''

''Nope, no nothing. I'm glad I can feel my legs again, more or less…'' I said relaxing in the chair. ''Hey, I wanted to ask you something about what happened after the explosion.'' I noticed Agnes tensing up at my question.

''What happened to those soldiers back in city? Did any of them get hurt?'' After asking my question Agnes visibly relaxed, letting out a sigh of relief. _Strange…_

''Yeah, as far as I know they all left with minimal injuries, thanks to you.'' Agnes said, giving me a nervous smile.

''You're hiding something from me, aren't you? Is it about Yi?'' I asked a bit skeptical about her behavior. ''At first I thought he was hanging around, but he would have visited me by now if he were. What's going on?''

''Mark… I can't keep this up. I need to be honest with you…'' She said gulping. ''You're right I'm keeping secrets. Yi, hasn't spoken to us since the incident. It's almost like he locked himself away.'' What Agnes said shocked me.

''He did what!? Where is he now!?'' I said panicked. ''There has to be something we can do!''

Agnes looked at me with a sad expression. She reached into her pocket, took out my phone and handed it to me. ''We've tried everything.'' She said, avoiding eye contact.

'' _We've tried everything?'' We… What is she talking about?…_

''Yi… Can you hear me? Are you there? Please…'' I said, waiting on a response. ''Come on you old geezer wake up! '' I yelled getting anxious.

''What happened? Where are we?'' Yi asked after a moment of silence. ''Mark? MARK! Thank god you're ok! I was concerned about your legs!''

''Oh my god Yi, you're back!'' Agnes cried out in happiness. ''We tried everything to try and get you back! What happened? You suddenly disappeared on us!''

''We.'' I muttered underneath my breath, thinking about what Agnes was saying.

''I remember our bond weakening after the fight with Battlecast Cho'Gath. Almost like you were gone… for good.'' Yi said saddened. ''But you're alive! I am overjoyed!''

''I'm so glad you're back. They'll be happy to hear I can bring you in.'' Agnes whispered just loud enough for me to hear.

''What are 'they' going to do once you get Yi to them, Agnes? What are you hiding from us? What are you not telling us?'' I said realizing something was off.

''What are you talking about Mark? I was trying to get Yi back so he could help you!'' Agnes said with a shaky voice.

''Agnes? What is Mark talking about? What did you try to do?'' Yi asked worried. We could both sense something was wrong at this point.

''I HAD ORDERS!'' Agnes yelled covering her ears, tears forming in her eyes. ''THEY TOLD ME TO DO IT!''

''WHO DID! TELL ME WHAT'S GOING ON!'' I yelled slamming my fist into the wall. ''Let me help you.''

''I-I can't they won't let me.'' Agnes said. ''They'll… They will… Take everything away, if I don't find a way.'' Agnes stuttered, holding her head in her hands. _It's like she's having a nervous breakdown or something…_

''I've heard enough. We're leaving.'' I said stumbling out of the therapy room. ''Yi do you think you can support my legs through the armor?''

''I think that can be arranged.'' Yi said forming half of the armor around my legs. ''Now let's get out of here.''

With Yi's support I managed to walk out of the medical wing of the facility, leaving a crying Agnes behind. _''Something is wrong, Yi. Really wrong.''_ I communicated mentally trying not to raise suspicion.

'' _Indeed it is. There is something else going on, what is she not telling us?''_ Yi's voice rang through my head.

'' _Either way, we can't just sit around and wait while something is being planned behind our backs.''_ I said mentally. We slowly made our way through the facility until we reached an emergency exit. I pushed it open and walked outside. Into a snowy forest.

''What the fuck? Where are we?'' I said confused. ''Yi you got a clue where we are?''

''I am working on it. You just focus on walking.'' Yi said, trying to get a location.

''What's that supposed to mean? I can walk just fine.'' I said leaning against a tree for support.

''I can sense the hextech in your legs, Mark. It is not fully healed just yet. Take it easy on yourself, ok?'' Yi said with a bit of concern in his voice.

''Sure can do buddy.'' I said limping to the next tree. I stopped for a second to listen if I heard footsteps behind us. ''Someone's following us…'' I muttered.

''I found it! Austria! A hidden medical facility under the name of…'' Yi said getting interrupted by the figure tailing us.

''Flint.'' The figure said. I turned around to face the figure and realized it was the same figure that saved me after the explosion back in the city.

''PROJECT Leona?'' I said a bit surprised. ''What do you know about all this?'' I asked, carefully walking backwards, looking for an escape route.

''All I know is that I don't want to hurt my friend. Stand down and come with me.'' She said lowering her shield.

''You're with them aren't you? The same people ordering my friend around.'' I said shivering lightly due to the cold. ''What are you going to do if I don't stand down? Kill me?''

''Please don't make me do this Mark.'' Leona said taking a step in my direction. I reacted by fully fusing with Yi, slowly drawing my blade. ''Mark you are in no condition to fight! Stand down or this will get messy.'' _Something about her seems familiar… but what?_

''You just watch me.'' I said taking a battle ready stance.

''I'm so, so sorry for this.'' She said holding up her shield. What stood out was that it was shaking lightly almost like she was afraid to fight me.

Leona advanced towards me, keeping her shield up. Slowly forcing me with my back into the bark of a tree. I noticed her shield extended and began to glow as she picked up the pace, running towards me.

I jumped out of the way of Shield of Daybreak and looked at the tree Leona had struck. The bark of the tree had a shield burned into it. _She isn't holding back anymore, I have to be careful not to get hit. I can't go all out yet…_

''Stop this nonsense Mark. You don't know what you're doing to all of us.'' Leona said. ''I know you're confused and scared but you need to stand down and come with me.''

''Like hell I'm going back with you!'' I said striking her shield with my blade. Leona didn't even seem phased by the attack and pushed me back like it was nothing. Right afterwards she counterattacked, forcing me to use Alpha strike to dodge the attack.

After coming out of Alpha, Leona turned around and slammed her shield into me with full force, throwing me against a tree. She directly followed up with Zenith Blade closing the gap she created. She put the edge of her shield against my throat, preventing me from escaping. She dropped her sword, using her free hand to support herself to get closer to me and whispered to me.

''I hope you can forgive me for this.'' She said, a tear running down her cheek, before pulling her shield backwards and slamming me in the face with it, knocking me unconscious.

* * *

''Ugh, not the white room again.'' I groaned, putting a hand on my forehead inspecting it for bruises.

''Good, you're finally awake.'' Leona her voice startled me. I turned around to face the source of the voice. Anger flowed through my body when I noticed she was casually sitting next to my bed, unarmed. I tried to hit her with a left hook but was stopped almost immediately by a handcuff.

''Where's Yi? What did you do to him?'' I said through gritted teeth as I tried to break the cuff by pulling at the chain a couple times.

''He's in a safe place, the further you two are apart the harder it is for you two to fuse.'' Leona said getting up from her seat.

''How can you be so calm about all this? Don't you know what they're going to do to him?''

''The reason I'm calm is because I do know what they're going to do.'' She explained. ''I need you to calm down, this isn't you.'' She said with a sad voice.

''And what do you know about me? I don't even know you.'' I said, stopping to try and break the cuff around my hand and rested my back against the bed I was in once again.

''Mark… I can't… I can't do this any longer, I can't keep this a secret from you.'' She said taking of her helmet, revealing a familiar face. Her hair was almost as white as snow due to her fusion with Leona and her usual lively eyes were missing that enthusiastic spark I loved so much about her.

''Nath? What happened to you? When…'' I was interrupted by Nathalie who put an armored finger on my lips. She slowly got up, getting closer to me, putting her hand on my cheek. ''I like where this is going.'' I said just above a whisper as we started kissing. The kiss was passionate and filled with longing. We were both consumed by the feeling of eachother's lips, moans of approval could be heard coming from both of us. Nathalie moved back a bit but I felt myself move closer to the edge of the bed nearly falling out, but I couldn't care less, I didn't want this moment to end. _She's here, alive and well that's all that matters to me…._

We broke the kiss after what felt like hours as we both caught our breath.

''I missed you so much.'' Nathalie said, still rubbing my cheek like she was making sure I was real. ''I… I wasn't sure if you'd ever wake up from that coma…'' she said, tears of happiness forming in her eyes.

''I missed you too.'' I said embracing her with tears of my own running down my cheeks.

After a moment Nathalie uncuffed me from the bed and helped me out of the bed. She took me for a slow walk through the facility. The both of us remaining silent throughout the entirety of the walk, unsure who was going to speak up first. Until Nathalie suddenly stopped in front of a door and opened it for me.

''Come on in. This is where I've been staying for the last two weeks.'' Nathalie said turning on the lights in the room. ''It's nothing special but I managed somehow.''

''It's not that bad, I mean you have a nice view of the forest.'' I said taking a look out of the window. ''Now would you mind explaining the situation to me? You guys are freaking me out with all the shady behavior.'' I asked sitting down on the small couch in the room.

''Fine, just don't do anything stupid afterwards ok?'' Nathalie said defusing with Leona. ''Thank you again Leona.'' She thanked.

''No problem Nath, you know I'll always have your back.'' Leona's cheery voice came from a small portable speaker in the room. ''I'll give you two some alone time.'' She said, her voice disappearing from the speaker.

''My girlfriend and the Radiant Dawn… Who would have guessed.'' I said with a smile as Nathalie sat down next to me and put an arm around me. ''I can't promise I won't do anything stupid though, I'm known to do stupid things.'' I said smiling at her bored expression.

''Anyway, the reason Agnes freaked out is because she's on tight surveillance by the government. After the attack on the city the whole world was going crazy. The army wanted to turn Yi into a weapon and shoved that task on Agnes. She has been trying to stall for Alisha to do something, that's one of the reasons for the coma lasting so long.'' Nathalie said balling a fist in frustration.

''What do you mean? Trying to stall for Alisha? Did something happen after I disappeared?'' I asked panicked.

''Yes… Viktor rules with an iron fist. He has complete control over the city and is planning to take more. We're awaiting Alisha's report on the state of things, but it's like she has gone silent…'' Nathalie continued explaining.

''You think she got captured?'' I asked stroking her hair, hoping it would calm her down a bit.

''No, I'm sure she's fine. The last report we got told us Damian was coming over to hide out here with Agnes.'' Nathalie said.

''Hide out? Like in, Viktor is hunting down people, hide out!? Things are just getting worse by the minute.'' I said letting out a worried sigh. ''Wait, what about my mom and Emily?!''

''They're safe. We made sure of that within the hour of you destroying Cho'Gath.'' Nathalie said calming me down. ''They're under protection 24/7 don't worry about it. If something were to happen to them we would hear about it and I would deploy immediately.''

''You? Are you sure you're up for that?'' I asked worried about my girlfriends safety. ''I don't mean to doubt you but…'' I said a bit worried about her.

''But what? I've been running ops for almost two weeks in the simulation room. I'm sure I can handle the real deal.'' Nathalie said with a smile.

''I just don't like the idea of you putting yourself in danger, I guess.'' I explained after a moment of thinking.

''Welcome to my world. Mark, you don't have to worry about me! We're a team now, you and me! We'll take Viktor down together!'' Nathalie said getting up from the couch.

''Where are you going?'' I asked confused as I mimicked her actions.

''Well I thought about filling you in on the smaller details over dinner, there's this amazing Gasthof as the Austrians call it, which also serves as a diner, not too far from here.'' Nathalie said excited while drooling at the thought of food. ''I'm just going to take a shower. Make yourself at home.'' Nathalie said walking off.

''You know what? I think I'll do just that.'' I said stopping her on her way over. ''Shower for two?'' I said with a grin.

''You've been in a coma for two weeks and got your bones replaced with magic new ones in both your legs and the only thing you're thinking of right now is having sex with me in the shower?'' She said putting her arms around me.

''I like it.'' She whispered into my ear.

''Hey! I never said sex in the shower.'' I said grinning at her words. ''Who's the perv now, huh?''

''I guess you're a bad influence on me.'' Nathalie giggled, pulling me along into the bathroom.

* * *

''Brauchen Sie mehr Tee?'' A young woman with an apron on asked with a smile. I stared for a bit not sure what she was saying.

''Do you want more tea?'' Nathalie whispered making the young waitress giggle a bit.

''Uhm, uhmm sure, thank you.'' I said nodding.

''Und für mich, ein Stück Torte, bitte **(*)**.'' Nathalie said in fluent German. The girl smiled, nodded and walked off.

''Wait you can speak Austrian?'' I asked confused. ''Not to mention fluently?''

''Mark, you're such a goofball. There's no such thing as an Austrian language, they speak German here, you should know that.'' She said laughing at my comment.

''C'mon how am I supposed to know that? I've never been to Austria before.'' I said, joining in on the laughing. ''And if things like me being in a coma are going to be a standard thing around here, I think I'll pass on coming back.'' I said taking a sip of my tea.

''Ah, Schade Nathalie ist mein bester Kunde **(**)**.'' The woman said walking back with a teapot and a slice of chocolate cake. Refilling my cup of tea and handing Nathalie the piece of cake.

''Ich gehe noch nicht weg, frau Hardt aber danke für alles. **(***)**.'' Nathalie thanked the woman in the apron. ''What? Don't like it when you can't follow the conversation?'' Nathalie teased as the woman walked away again.

''Nah, I was just wondering where you learned to speak fluent German, you must be a spy.'' I joked giving her a look of disbelieve.

''Heehee stop. I had a lot of time on my hands for two weeks. Agnes didn't let me get near you so I had to find something to do beside train all day.'' Nathalie said smiling. ''My German is rough around the edges, but I'll manage.'' She said giving me a toothy grin.

''Yeah, I noticed back at the facility, you've been working hard on your body. Leona's training routine must be doing work on you.'' I complimented.

''Wa? Oh right, Leona.'' Nathalie said looking up from her cake. ''Yeah her training was exhausting the first couple of days but after a few times I got used to it.'' She said taking another bite of her cake. ''Why are you staring at me like that?''

''I was just thinking about how good you look.'' I said, supporting my head with my hand. ''And I realized I haven't even apologized yet for what I said back in the forest.''

''You don't have to Mark. You were confused and scared, no one blames you for that.'' Nathalie said, taking one of my hands.

''A bit confused, sure, but I didn't even realize it was you, fused with Leona. You noticed almost instantly when I showed up at your doorstep, what kind of boyfriend am I if I can't even recognize you?''

''Mark, stop. You're perfect, I couldn't ask for a better lover.'' Nathalie said messaging my hand with her own, causing me to relax. ''You know if you want to apologize to someone it should be Agnes, she's most likely drinking her worries away right now.''

''She really does that, huh… I'll make it up to her tomorrow, today is all about us.'' I said taking Nathalie's hand in my own. ''Just you and me, out for dinner, enjoying ourselves.''

''Who would have guessed that we of all people would have such a normal night out?'' Nathalie said, looking up with a smile. ''Well, we did have a fight I guess.''

''Wowowow slow down there babe. One, I didn't know it was you. Two, it wasn't the most normal fight between a couple. And three, you slammed a shield into me, knocking me unconscious! '' I said holding up three fingers, making Nathalie giggle at my explanation.

''Heehee, C'mon you goofball, I'll pay so we can go back to the facility and get some rest.'' Nathalie said helping me up from my seat.

* * *

 **(*) Translation: ''And a piece of cake for me please.''**

 **(**) Translation: ''Oh what a shame Nathalie is one of my best customers.''**

 **(***) Translation: ''I'm not leaving yet, miss Hardt but thank you for everything.''**

 **Sorry to all the German peeps out there, my German is a bit rough around the edges. My** **pronunciation is better then my actual grammer.**

 **Yoooo, my peeps! How's it going. Emerald coming at you with another chapter finished early due to me having too much time on my hands. Seriously, I have way too much. Just today I had almost three hours of nothing to do because of exams. (Yes, even more exams…)**

 **Anywho… New chapter! WHOO! Nathalie and Leona, who would have guessed… I know, I know most of you totally did but c'mon waiting for it to happen was the real challenge wasn't it? ;3 What's Viktor planning? What does Damian have to tell? What's going on in the city? And where the hell is Lucian? (I know Lulu, you'll just have to be patient for now.)**

 **I want to give a shout-out to one of my favorite authors FicfansEverywhere for joining the discord channel and helping me improve my writing. And ofcourse for all the fun on the channel. He's the author for the huge Fic called The Dawn has arrived (I recommend you check it out if you haven't already. IT GOOD). I'm so grateful that such a big author is willing to read my crappy fic and help me improve! Thanks man, YOU THA MAN!**

 **Continuing on to our standard subject… The Discord channel. You guys know the drill! You can enter the Discord channel by typing in: discord dot gg /BWpaKr9**

 **Just remember to be respectful to others and don't be racist and we can all have a good time k? The channel is filling up with great peeps from all around the world! It's a blast! It could be an even bigger blast with more peeps! So don't hesitate and come join us!**

 **So that's it for this week, I'll get to work on the next chapter soon! Hope you guys enjoyed and look forward to the next chapter! Until the next one,**

 **Emerald out!**


	19. Chapter 19

PROJECT: Earth

Chapter 19: Limits

''Mark wake up. It's time to get up.'' I hear a voice say while being shook awake. I opened my eyes, slowly but they were opening, although the shaking was working.

''Whaaaa?'' I asked the voice sleepily. ''Five more minutes…'' I said replying to the shaking.

''C'mon it's time to train.'' The voice said as the shaking stopped, this time a bit further away. ''You know what. Take your time but don't forget to stop by. '' The voice disappeared from the room.

''Whatever. Can you believe this guy Nath.'' I said, rolling over in the small bed in Nathalie's room. ''Oh…'' I noticed Nathalie was missing. ''She was the voice… Oh well.''

'' _Mark it has been over an hour since Nathalie left… You should get up or she is going to be mad.''_ Yi's voice rang through my head, waking my up instantly.

''Jesus Christ, Yi. Never do that again.'' I sat up in the bed, wide awake. ''Right you're not here anymore…''

''Ofcourse I'm here Mark.'' Yi's voice rang through the room. ''Agnes just needed to make sure I was alright. We were wrong to mistrust her.''

''But she confirmed she was keeping things from us. Something big.'' I said, walking into the shower.

''Mark, if she really was going to tear us apart then why am I here talking to you?'' Yi reasoned with me.

''Then why did she take you from me? Why did Nathalie have to come after us and knock me unconscious? It doesn't add up at all.'' I said stepping out of the shower, quickly drying myself off.

''She was ordered to make adjustments to the armor. She needs my consent to do so.'' Yi explained. ''I approved all of them. Most are for monitoring purposes anyway, but some you'll like.''

''Fine, I was going to talk to her today anyway. Might aswell move that up on the schedule to 'right now'.'' I said, putting on some clean clothes Nathalie had put away for me.

''That's the spirit! Now hurry up and get to the research lab!'' Yi said cheerful before his voice left the room completely.

''The research lab, huh? Sounds interesting.'' I muttered leaving the room.

I walked through the facility thinking of a way I was going to apologize to Agnes for my outburst. _Yi said she just needed to make adjustments to the armor… but why would she make such a big problem out of that_ … _''I HAD ORDERS!''_ Agnes her yelling came back to mind. I frowned at my behavior from yesterday. _No, I need to apologize to her. I was wrong about her._

I opened the glass door to the research lab, careful not to make a sound and snuck in, having a quick look around. ''This place is amazing…'' I said to myself while being amazed by the multiple giant monitors and inventions in the lab.

''Took you long enough to get over here.'' Agnes said turning around in her chair with a bottle of wine in her hand. ''You know you're a real pain in my ass sometimes.'' She wasn't too drunk from what I could see, but it was clear she wasn't herself either.

''Hey, Yi called me here. He explained a few things to me. Is it true? Did you only need to make a few adjustments?'' I asked a bit skeptical. ''You kinda freaked out yesterday.''

''Oh please. Like you know what kind of pressure I'm under. Hmmm, you know what never mind, you probably do.'' Agnes said taking a sip of her drink. ''I just cracked at the pressure that's all. I can't deal with those kind of situations.''

''Well… I suppose I'm sorry for putting you in such a tough spot…'' I said, scratching the bridge of my nose.

''And?'' Yi's voice rang through the room expecting me to say more.

''I… should have trusted you from the beginning. It was wrong of me to not thank you for saving my life…'' I let out a sigh.

''Better.'' Yi said satisfied with the apology.

''Hehehe Yi's in full dad mode.'' Agnes said with a dumb grin on her face. Making both me and Yi a bit uncomfortable. ''Anyway, apology accepted. Now get over here so I can show you the new stuff I implemented.'' Agnes said taking my phone from her pocket.

''I was kinda curious what you did.'' I said taking my phone from her. The familiar orange eyes popped up on the phone, signaling Yi was back. ''Let's see what kind of trick she taught you Yi.'' I said fusing with Yi.

''First off we got the standard communications.'' Agnes started. ''They'll help you stay in touch out in the field. You and Nathalie are linked to eachother so there's no need for yelling.''

''Next up we got a bunch of trackers.'' Yi continued. ''I wanted to make sure you and Agnes are able to monitor everything, from the armors functionality to how much calories you're burning. I can open it for you whenever, just tell me when.'' To demonstrate Yi raised a menu on the HUD and began scrolling through different options.

''And last but definitely not least, I implemented a stealth drive. Before you were silent and fast, but with this you're fast, silent and you don't have a giant glowing neon target painted all over yourself.'' Agnes explained proud of herself.

''So I can go invisible? That's neat.'' I said looking at my arms. ''I think it's broken, I'm not turning invisible.'' I looked at Agnes for answers.

''No you dummy, it's not that kind of stealth drive. The stealth drive makes sure you're immune to EMP's and hacks, that and it dims the light of the armor.'' As Agnes explained I noticed the armor's glowing to become less until there was nothing left.

''So how are you sure I'm immune to a EMP blast?'' I asked.

''We aren't sure until now.'' Agnes said taking out a small orb and throwing it at my feet. The orb exploded in a few blue sparks. ''How's it in there?'' she asked taking another swig from her bottle.

''No changes here.'' Yi said laughing a bit.

''What did you two just do?'' I asked confused.

''Great! You're EMP proof.'' Agnes said with a smile. She slowly got up from her chair and stumbled towards me. ''Well, I need to get some sleep. I gotta pick Damian up from the airport pretty soon so I need to sober up a bit.'' Agnes said drunkenly walking out of the lab.

''I have a bad feeling about her picking up Damian in that drunken state…'' I said looking at the lab doors that closed after Agnes walked out. ''Oh well nothing I can do about it.''

''How about we hurry up and look for Nathalie. I think she's still waiting on you in the training room.'' Yi said while defusing with me. I nodded and walked off towards the training room on the other side of the facility.

* * *

''So… do you like our new tricks?'' Yi asked as we passed the corner.

''They'll come in handy, I'm sure of it.'' I said with a smile as I walked into the training room, it was almost completely the same as the training room back at the base. I walked up to the glass wall that separated the training room from the console and took a look inside.

On the other side was Nathalie running on a treadmill, she was sweating like crazy and her hair was tied up in a ponytail, flailing wildly from left to right due to the quick pace. _Note to self: Ask Nathalie to wear her hair in a ponytail more often…_

Nathalie suddenly stopped running and stepped off the mill, making it disappear. The room started to change from a blank nearly empty room to a burning city. The room created a Mecha Kha'Zix in mid leap claws extended towards Nathalie.

She responded by summoning Leona's shield and sword. She instantly blocked the attack of the Mecha by catching him atop of her shield, carrying its weight on her arm without any troubles. _Such strength…_ With a loud yell she threw the Mecha off of her shield and into the air before making a clean cut across its torso, cutting it in half.

''Damn girl, you're on fire today!'' Leona complimented with her standard cheery voice. ''So what's next? A Battlecast?''

''Sure why not!'' Nathalie said as she fully fused with Leona. Nathalie deactivated her shield and planted her sword into the ground before stretching her arms a bit. She untied her ponytail, making her now snow white hair fall over her shoulders. _Damn she looks good…_

Nathalie was just as surprised as I was when she was grabbed by her leg and thrown into the air by a metallic tentacle. A Vel'Koz Battlecast was created inside the room inspecting its prey.

''Not cool Leona! I wasn't ready yet!'' Nathalie said flailing wildly within the Battlecasts grasp. It moved Nathalie closer to its eye inspecting her upside down form a bit closer.

''Hahahahaha, oh Nath your enemy never waits on the battlefield. Unexpected things happen when you don't pay attention to your surroundings!'' Leona exclaimed, clearly having a blast over Nathalie's panicked reaction.

''Fine, fine you got a point.'' Nathalie said unamused while flailing within the tentacles grasp, which started to make its way up her leg reaching up against her thigh. ''OH HELL NO! GET AWAY FROM THERE!'' Nathalie yelled angry as she activated her shield. She slammed Vel'Koz in the eye, making the tentacle drop her to the ground with a metallic screech.

''Leona what the fuck is with you and perverted copies of enemies!?'' Nathalie yelled while running up to her sword which was still planted into the ground.

''Hahahhaha! By the sun, your reactions are just hilarious!'' Leona laughed. ''I'll tone it down a bit next time.'' Leona promised while Nathalie jumped to the side dodging a Void Rift created by Vel'Koz.

Vel'Koz moved in on Nathalie, blocking her from her sword. ''What the hell Leona!? I need my sword!'' Nathalie yelled, raising her shield to block a barrage of incoming missiles creating a large black smoke cloud, making me move closer to the window looking on in excitement.

''Hey! No complaining! You wanted a challenge? You got one!'' Leona said. ''Now show that thing who's boss!''

Nathalie protected almost all of her body with her shield and ran at Vel'Koz who still hovered over her sword. ''I hate it when you're right.'' She yelled, while charging. The Battlecast responded by firing a Tectonic Disruption near her feet, throwing her further away the blade planted in the ground. ''Dammit!'' Nathalie got up swearing. She deactivated the shield and charged again, this time without the shield slowing her down. _What is she planning?_

The Battlecast fired a set of missiles her way. _Without her shield, the impact of the attack will take her down…_ Nathalie twisted out of the way of the rockets and reactivated her shield as the missiles detonated near her, creating another giant cloud of black smoke. _!_

The battlefield was covered in a thick black mist from the explosion. I slammed my fist against the glass wall, I wanted to yell out to Nathalie but I knew it wasn't real. ''She can't be hurt in there'' I told myself. Suddenly a bright yellow light launched itself at Vel'Koz at an insanely fast pace. Nathalie dodged a tentacle thrown her way by rolling underneath it, giving her a chance at retrieving her weapon. Right afterwards the Battlecast grabbed her by the leg again, pulling her up into the air.

''Not this time!'' Nathalie yelled as she cut through the tentacle around her foot, throwing herself to the ground. The Battlecast screeched in response as it dropped to the ground, out of balance. Nathalie stood next to the Battlecast ready to stab it in the eye when it disappeared.

''Nicely done Nath.'' Leona said satisfied with the results.

''That all you got today? C'mon give me a real challenge.'' Nathalie called out with a smirk.

''What are you thinking about?'' Leona asked. ''I'm not sure what you find a challenge. You're making leaps of progress.''

''How about…. We do some shadow boxing.'' Nathalie said with a smirk.

''A-a-are you sure!? The last time it didn't end so well!'' Leona asked unsure.

''Last time… I didn't have him back. I'm good to go, I've never felt better.'' Nathalie said determined.

''Must have been all that attention he's been giving you. Heehee.'' Leona giggled, making Nathalie blush.

''What do you mean by that!?'' Nathalie said flustered. ''Did you spy on us yesterday?'' A black figure formed in front of Nathalie and Leona.

''I wasn't spying! I was enjoying your date from a distance! I promise I didn't snoop after you two entered your room… kissing… and undressing eachother…'' Leona added a bit more and more every time she talked. Making Nathalie more flustered with every word. ''Enough talking for now! Focus on the mission!''

''Right! Take down Mark… well Reverse Mark I suppose.'' Nathalie said taking a battle ready stance. _Wait what!?_

The figure before Nathalie charged her with blinding speed, giving Nathalie just enough time to raise her shield. The figure responded by disappearing right before running into her shield. Nathalie turned around and slammed her shield into the figure, knocking him away.

''Predictable.'' Nathalie said before yelping and grasping her side in pain.

''That's confirmed hit number one.'' Leona laughed. ''You're capable of taking more but don't get cocky Nath.''

''What the hell Leona? That hurt!'' Nathalie yelled while blocking a hit from my copy.

''Well you're used to the shocks you receive for taking hits from Mecha's and Battlecasts but this is Mark we're talking about! He hits way harder, haha!'' Leona explained as Nathalie clashed blades with the copy.

''So I've noticed!'' The copy suddenly started attacking twice as fast, forcing Nathalie to block even faster and more randomly.

 _He's creating an opening to strike…_

The copy began dancing around Nathalie forcing her to twist and block at random and thus creating an opening for him to kick her out of balance. Nathalie however expected the copy to kick and counterattacked with her sword.

 _She failed to see it in time…_

The copy reacted by dodging the sword and roundhouse kicking Nathalie away with full force, throwing her into a building. She cried out in pain as she hit the wall, dropping her sword in the process.

''Good fight, I guess I still have a lot to learn after all.'' Nathalie said with a smile. ''Uhm… Leo? Why isn't it stopping?''

''I think something is wrong… really wrong!'' Leona yelled as the copy raised his blade ready to impale Nathalie. She raised her shield, blocking the blade. The copy kept on striking her shield, making her yelp out in pain with every strike. I stepped into the room fused with Yi ready fight the copy when Nathalie lost her temper.

''Ok that's it! I've had ENOUGH!'' She yelled out in anger as she summoned Solar Flare evaporating the figure.

''Nathalie!'' I ran up to her, holding her in my arms. ''Are you ok? Where does it hurt?''

''I'm fine.'' She managed to get out through the panting. ''I just need a moment the collect my breath.''

''Nath that was amazing! Your first Solar Flare! I'm so proud of you!'' Leona cheered. ''Maybe a bit out of control, but it's a start.''

''I suppose this concludes your training session for today.'' I said crossing my arms. ''I'm sure you two can use a break anyway.''

''No! I can keep going! I promise!'' Nathalie grunted in pain as she got up. I raised an eyebrow at her act of toughness.

''You know I saw the whole fight between you and… me?'' I said unsure about my copy. ''What happened before aswell, pretty impressive cutting that bug in half and how you fought that Battlecast without a sword.'' I complimented and defused with Yi offering her my hand.

''You're making great progress! Yesterday you could barely summon a cinder of the sun and today you summon a Solar Flare powerful enough to evaporate someone…'' Leona cheered. ''Wait that came out wrong… Yi should I be scolding her?'' Leona asked as Nathalie took my hand and defused with Leona as I pulled her back to her feet.

''Not really, this is a controlled environment, just make sure you don't use such destructive power on a human being and you two will do just fine in the field.'' Yi said laughing a bit at Leona's uncertainty.

''You of all people should know that I'm not a good teacher!'' Leona yelled back a bit panicked. ''I've never been a good one, never will be a good one.''

''You're being way too hard on yourself Leona! You did a great job teaching me how to use these powers!'' Nathalie complimented as the room changed back into the blank white room. ''Now about that break…'' Nathalie said with a cheeky smile aimed towards me.

''I get it, I get it. Lunch is on me…'' I said putting my arm around Nathalie. ''But I don't have any Euro's though.'' I said laughing as Nathalie gave me a bored look.

* * *

I stood waiting at a small airport, waiting on the plane to arrive with Damian on board. From what I was told he would be arriving pretty late, meaning that lucky ol me had the chance to get some sleep. Not that I was getting any rest, I've been worrying about Alisha nonstop since she stopped messaging me personally and that's when the bad dreams start coming.

I rubbed my tired eyes a few times before taking out a few aspirins downing them with some water. ''Goood, I have to stop drinking whenever I feel bad about something.'' I told myself as I readjusted my sunglasses, although there had been a lot of snowfall lately the sun was out aswell. It was strange to me to see snow this late even if it was Austria, a country known for its mountains and snowy seasons.

''Maybe it's the globe warming up.'' I muttered to myself as a plane landed on the airfield. A ton of people walked out. Almost all of them walked towards the shuttle which was meant to take them to the airport. All but one, a young boy walked out with a backpack slung over his shoulder, the boy walked over to me and embraced me.

''Agnes! I'm so glad you're ok!'' He said with a sad voice, like he was about to cry. I hugged him back, slowly rubbing his back trying to calm him down.

''Shhh, it's ok. I'm here. C'mon let's get to the base so you can rest up.'' I told him, making him let go of me. A fancy car drove up to us and the doors opened. We got in the car, once inside Damian exhaled loudly before speaking up.

''Agnes I know you're going to tell me this can wait but it really can't.'' Damian said searching his backpack for something. ''It's about sis.'' My heart skipped a beat as he finished the sentence.

''Please don't tell me she's…'' I asked afraid. Damian shook his head slowly calming me down.

''She's alive but she has a weird form of amnesia. She doesn't remember a thing about Ekko or any of that.'' Damian said avoiding eye contact. ''She freaked out when she saw what happened in the city. It's like she doesn't remember anything.''

''How did that happen?'' I asked unsure.

''Sis got in a fight with da- I mean Yasuo…'' Damian stopped talking for a moment, thinking about what had happened. ''He did something to her almost like he put a spell on her and now she doesn't remember…''

''How bad is it? The amnesia I mean.'' I asked worried about Alisha. _What if she doesn't remember me…_

''She asked for you. I told her you were here with Mark and Nathalie but she didn't understand any of it. She told me to go to you, where it's safe.'' Damian explained. ''She doesn't remember anything about Viktor or Yasuo…'' He said staring down. ''She didn't want to know anything about Ekko either.''

''So what happened to Ekko? What did you do about that?'' I kept on asking.

''I'm with Damian.'' Ekko's voice came from his phone. ''And that's not the only thing. We're compatible, so we already got a replacement for Alisha.''

''What!? Damian you know Alisha will kill me if she found out what you're planning to do!'' I said shocked. Damian looked away before answering me.

''It's the only way Agnes, if we have to look for some random weirdo who's compatible with Ekko it will take weeks, maybe even months…'' Damian argued. ''Not to mention we have Mark! He can teach me right? Or is he…''

''He's up and running again, his legs are doing great because of the prosthetics are… Wait that's not the point! You're only fifteen! What if somethings happens to you!'' I started yelling, hoping to yell some sense into him.

''Agnes!'' Damian yelled interrupting me from my rant. ''She's not going to wear her armor again… ever. She swore it, she said she'll never go back to being that person. She's gone into hiding and left me with you until things calmed down.'' Damian explained.

''Still, that doesn't change the fact that you're just a teenager! You can't run in and just expect things to go right every time! Look at Alisha! Look at Mark after their fights! I can't let that happen to you…'' I said wiping away a tear in my eye.

''Like I don't know that! But I've seen what Viktor has done to the city… to my friends… OUR friends! You can't deny that he needs to be stopped!'' Damian said, his voice filled with determination. ''Ekko help me out here!''

''You know he's right Agnes, if we have to look for someone who is compatible, it will take weeks if not months! Then comes training! Damian and I already have a bond, and he shows promise, even more then Alisha did at first!'' Ekko said, joining Damian's side of the argument.

''You really are just as stubborn as your sister aren't you…'' I huffed in defeat, making him smile.

''Yup that's me. Once I set my mind to it, there's no stopping me.'' Damian said a bit cocky.

''Fine, I'll ask if Mark is willing to train you in that case…'' I said with a sigh.

''oh my god thanks you Agnes!'' Damian said hugging me closely.

''Yep, what he said. I can't really hug you so a thanks from me will have to do.'' Ekko laughed.

 _Sigh…_

* * *

''So you want to go for a run? Stretch your legs? Try out your hextech prosthetics?'' Nathalie kept on hinting while we walked back into the training room.

''It seems you want me to do something but I can't wrap head around it…'' I said smiling. ''Is it that you want to spar or is it something else.'' I asked wiggling my eyebrows.

''I'd pay to see that.'' Leona said, earning laughs from Yi.

''And that's why you don't make jokes like that around Leona… Dammit Mark.'' Nathalie said resting her head in her hand. ''But yes I am insanely curious how the hextech affects your speed. Care do demonstrate?''

''Well now that you mention it, I feel good enough for a run.'' I said sticking out my tongue playfully. ''Yi, you up for a little overdue exercise?''

''Gladly, it will do us both good. It's been to long since we had a good Highlander run.'' Yi said, fusing with me.

''So what do I have to know about the prosthetics? You seem to know something that I don't.'' I asked Nathalie with a bit of uncertainty.

''Well I was there when Agnes and Ekko created the prosthetics. They talked about… an increase in speed, I'm not sure how much…'' Nathalie said thinking.

''They were talking about Mach one, with the help of the overdrive protocol ofcourse.'' Leona butted in on the conversation. ''That's roughly seven hundred sixty-one point two miles an hour or twelve hundred twenty-five kilometers an hour.'' Leona explained quickly.

''Nicely read Leona, truly spoken as if you actually knew the answer yourself.'' Yi said jokingly.

''Oh c'mon that was my moment to shine!'' Leona said trying to sound hurt.

''Like you never shone before! You're the Aspect of the Sun, shining is part of your job!'' Yi said laughing.

''Hmmm, nearly doubling my speed with the overdrive protocol might prove to be a challenge… a challenge I'm willing to tackle.'' I muttered to myself.

''What was that? You're going to do it?'' Nathalie asked excited. ''Like in right now!? Sweet!'' She said throwing her hands into the air.

''You just make sure I got a nice road to run on babe.'' I said walking into the training room. The room started to form into a long highway in the middle of the desert. ''Route sixty-six really?''

''What? I thought it would be nice…'' Nathalie said with a sigh.

''It's a bit cliché but I like it, anything you pick is perfect anyway.'' I stretched my legs a bit before activating Highlander. ''Yi, pull up a speedometer I want to keep track of this.''

I launched myself forward with Highlander. I could feel the power surge flowing through my body. For the first time I felt like I was improving, I was going faster than ever before. _Four hundred fifty miles per hour and climbing… I have to push harder, go even further beyond…_

'' _Don't push yourself Mark, you're still recovering.''_ Yi communicated mentally. _''We can try again later.''_

'' _I know I can do it! I just need to focus.''_ I replied. I kept on running on the route, slowly creating an orange line trailing behind me. _That's it, were getting there._

''Mark it seems like you're stuck at six hundred fifty. You reached your limit.'' Nathalie's voice came from the intercom inside the room.

''We haven't used the overdrive yet.'' I said trying to get the overdrive protocol to activate. ''If it would activate…''

''What do you mean 'if'? You still don't have any control over the overdrive?'' Nathalie asked confused. ''Uhm Mark? You're starting to slow down… slowly but you're slowing down. You ok?''

''I'm feeling fine, it's just a bit of pain.'' I replied putting more effort into my running.

''If you're in pain you should stop! Right now!'' Agnes joined the conversation. ''Mark you're overdoing it! Slow down now!''

''Agnes! Nice of you to join us! But I won't slow down! I can make it. I just need the overdrive!'' I argued trying to activate the protocol again.

''Mark you don't understand! You're not used to this speed, If you don't stop now you'll lose control again!'' Agnes yelled.

I realized what Agnes said and started to panic, making me lose control. The speedometer started to twitch almost like… _It's unsure how fast I'm moving!?_ ''I'm losing control again!'' I yelled, starting to zig zag a bit. _Crap, crap, crap._ ''Agnes! Any ideas?''

''Regain control and manually slow down! Use the overdrive to go faster and then break it down from your top speed!'' Agnes explained.

Everything around me felt so slow, slower than usual when I was using Highlander. I felt the adrenaline flow through me, the mix of fear and excitement fueling me.

 _What did I do last time to activate the overdrive… ''I'm proud of you Mark…''_ My dad's voice ran through my head. _''I love you…''_ Nathalie's voice ran through my head. ' _'Mark!''_ Emily's voice ran through my head. _''We believe in you!''_ The voices said together. A tear formed in my eye. _I won't let you guys down!_

I felt the overdrive activate, giving me the needed speed to reach Mach one. Breaking the sound barrier, shaking the entire training room. My vision started to blur signaling I was running out of energy quickly.

''I'm back in control now what?'' I asked panting lightly while putting less effort into my running, slowly dropping my speed.

''Well there seems to be another problem… You breaking the sound barrier must have created a disruption in the system.. It's going into lockdown. Meaning it will shut down in a few seconds. You need to crash or you'll walk into the wall of the room, most likely killing you.''

''Things can never be easy can they?'' I asked sarcastically. I looked at my current speed and noticed I was down to three-hundred miles per hour. ''Yi what was our speed when we crashed last time?''

''Roughly four-hundred why are you asking?'' Yi answered confused.

''Nath I'm gonna need you to place me over an ocean! I'm going for a dive! On my cue… NOW!'' I ordered as the ground beneath me transformed into an ocean, making me fall into it. Before I could even think about drowning, the machine in the room broke down, forming the plain white room again.

''Mark! Are you ok? Please say something!'' Nathalie yelled as she helped me up from the ground.

''Auch.'' I grunted while sitting up, getting ready to meditate.

''We seriously need to talk about your landing skills…'' Nathalie joked, breaking the tension of the moment.

''Will you two, never do something like that ever again please. Atleast not when I'm not around...'' Agnes said walking up to us. ''I know it's tempting to push your limits but be careful.'' She said with a huff.

''Weren't you picking up Damian from the airport?'' Leona asked, suddenly butting in on the conversation.

''I did and I need to discuss something urgent with you two. Take five and meet us at the lab, this really cannot wait any longer.'' Agnes said walking off.

 _I wonder what's so urgent..._

* * *

 **Authors Note time!**

 **Yo what's up my peeps! It me Emerald with a new chapter. A bit late but it'll have to do. Atleast it isn't a super short chapter! Look at it that way, this chapter could have been an author's note only! Just kidding, I'd never do that to you guys. I've just been really busy with school and stuff, that's why this chapter took a bit longer than usual.**

 **This chapter was a bit of a showing off what Mark and Nathalie are capable off (Mostly Nathalie because she just got her powers!) and ofcourse to set the next part of the fic in motion. With Alisha not remembering what she used to do and Ekko and Damian in need of training who's going to take such a task? I hear you ask. It'll be mentioned next chapter or maybe the chapter after that one? Who knows? Me! HA!**

 **Time to remind you guys of the discord channel! You can enter the Discord channel by typing in: discord dot gg /BWpaKr9**

 **Just remember to be respectful to others and don't be racist and we can all have a good time k? There's a bunch of people in the channel just waiting to meet you! Yes you! seriously we'd love to have you as long as you follow the rules of the channel listed above! So join us! We won't bite… Ok maybe a bit, but only when I'm hungry!**

 **Well that concludes this chapter and this week's upload! Hope you peeps enjoyed it! I'll try to be back with another chapter next week but it might take more time. I'm starting to wrap up season 1 and I was thinking of ending it with one huge chapter (10k+ words maybe) I SAID MAYBE ITS NOT FINAL YET, HOLD YOUR HORSES.**

 **Anywho, jokes aside. Until next time,**

 **Emerald out!**


	20. Chapter 20

PROJECT: Earth

Chapter 20: Brightest Day (Season 1 finale, part 1)

* * *

 **(!SUICIDE TRIGGER THIS CHAPTER! It's a mentioning of suicidal thoughts, no self harm or death, but if you're sensitive on the subject or it hits close to home, I warn you in advance.)**

* * *

Nathalie and I walked into the lab after the Highlander incident. We were met with Agnes and Damian with the same serious face, both looking our way. ''So what's so important that it couldn't wait until after dinner?'' I asked with a smile.

''Mark, Nathalie, have a seat…'' Agnes said with a grim face. We both complied and sat down in a sort of makeshift loveseat. ''Damian, fill them in on the situation we got on our hands, all of it please, Mark doesn't know the whole story yet.''

''I suppose I should start almost two weeks ago, the day after the Cho'Gath incident.'' Damian said. I thought back to that night, the memory of my dad saying goodbye came to mind and all the emotions hit me like a truck.

I looked down in sadness, Nathalie noticed my internal struggle and pulled me closer to her, throwing one arm around me. She gave me a sympathetic look as I let out a sigh. ''We'll talk about it later…'' I said returning the hug.

''Mark, I didn't mean to bring back those memories but-'' Damian said, noticing his mistake.

''It's ok Damian, I'll manage.'' I said cutting him off. ''Please continue.''

''Right, after the incident you were moved to here and by doing so, the protector of the city was gone.'' Damian said with a grim tone.

''Wait people think I'm dead?'' I asked Damian surprised.

''Well, yes... You've been gone for two weeks while Viktor took over the city. The world fears Viktor to the point that even the military won't do anything.'' Damian said. ''He has small Battlecast models posted all around the city, monitoring the people.''

''Smaller Battlecasts? How big are we talking? Human sized or miniature?'' Nathalie asked curious.

''Not that it matters to us, we'll take care of them as a team.'' Yi said complimenting Nathalie.

''Not that she needs help, Nathalie can take those things on any day.'' Leona joined in on the complimenting.

''Oh hush you two, you're going to make me blush, heehee.'' Nathalie giggled.

''Anyway, a bit bigger than humans, they have the same loadouts as the regular, bigger models.'' Damian explained before continuing. ''In the lasting two weeks Viktor took control of the city by force, killing anyone who dared stand up to him.'' Damian said while fidgeting with his thumbs nervously.

''Afterwards, Viktor posted his heralds around the city, always at random spots, you never know who you're going to walk into…'' Damian said looking away.

''Heralds?'' I asked confused.

''The other PROJECT users siding with him. Lucian, Fiora, Zed, Yasuo, all of them are stationed at random, keeping watch.'' Damian said answering my question.

''Alisha infiltrated a command station and found out Viktor is working on something big, a sort of unstable power source. That's when she walked into Yasuo again. He did something to her and now she doesn't remember a thing about Ekko or fighting Viktor or any of you!'' Damian said with a brittle voice, balling his fists in frustration. ''I-I just need a moment…'' He said, rubbing his eyes before being comforted by Agnes.

''An unstable power source… What would he need that for?'' Nathalie asked me.

''I don't know, but if I had to guess he isn't going to power his apartment with it…'' I said a bit syndical, earning a bored look from Nathalie and Agnes. ''So what are we going to do without Alisha's support? More importantly, what about Ekko?'' I asked, trying to think of a solution.

''Well, me and Damian are compatible for fusion, hell we've already tried using some abilities back home and it was great!'' Ekko said excited. ''He shows more promise than Alisha ever did! We just need someone to train us…'' Ekko said, hinting a bit towards Nathalie and me.

''But if you don't want to, you don't have to.'' Damian added, calming down a bit.

''Well, we can use all the help we can get… Right Mark?'' Nathalie asked smiling at me.

''We sure can, but I will only train you if you promise me you won't get involved in taking back the city.'' I said giving him a serious face.

''WHAT!?'' Nathalie and Damian yelled simultaneously. ''Mark what the hell?'' Nathalie asked with an angry tone in her voice.

''We need to take back the city as soon as possible, we can't let Viktor's plan succeed. Not to mention, we can't sit around here while Viktor's terrorizing the city.'' I said, mimicking Nathalie's almost angry tone.

''Are you crazy!?'' Damian yelled. ''You just agreed that you can use all the help you can get!''

''I did, but I can't handle another corpse on my conscience, I've let enough people down as it is… Not to mention this is what Alisha would have wanted, even if she doesn't remember, she wouldn't have wanted you to run into a battle with barely any training.'' I said crossing my arms. ''That's a final.''

''I agree with Mark.'' Agnes said, earning confused looks from Nathalie and Damian. ''Alisha would have wanted you two to train him, but Mark is right about Viktor, the longer we wait, the harder it's going to get for us to take back the city.''

''And who the hell put him in charge anyway?'' Ekko asked pissed off.

''Actually… Alisha did.'' Damian said looking away.

''What!?'' Nathalie and I asked confused. ''I'm in charge of this operation?'' I asked confused.

''No Mark, you're in charge of everything. The night before we took you here, Alisha told me that if anything ever happened to her, which would result in her being unable to function as strike-commander, you would take her place.'' Agnes said giving me a serious look. ''She believed that you are the right person to lead operations and do her job if she wouldn't be able to any longer.''

''Holy shit that's insane…'' I said, taking in the huge responsibility that just got laid on my shoulders.

''Don't worry about it too much Mark, I'll be there to help you out and I'm sure Nathalie, Leona and Yi are too.'' Agnes said giving me a weak smile. The others mentioned all agreed with her.

''It's decided then, Nathalie will be my second, and Agnes can be my adviser.'' I said after a moment of thinking. ''That is if you're all willing to take these rolls.'' I said earning nods from Nathalie and Damian.

''I still think you're making a mistake…'' Yi said. ''You're not making use of an important resource being offered to you, Mark. Damian and Ekko are perfect infiltrators and hackers, I'm sure we can find a use for them.''

''I was thinking about that aswell, Yi. What if me and Nathalie keep him save and try to take control of a control center? We could tap into Viktor's network and see what he's up to. All we need to do is take down one herald, three on one and boom, we got a ton of information.'' Leona added to Yi's thought.

''That doesn't sound like such a bad idea.'' I said thinking about the possibilities. ''I mean Viktor thinks I'm dead and doesn't know about Nathalie and Leona either.'' I thought a bit more about this makeshift plan we just came up with.

''How about we vote on the idea.'' Nathalie suggested, earning nods from me and Agnes.

''Well… Who's in favor of going back to the city to take Viktor on as a team?'' I asked a bit skeptical about the plan. We all raised our hands, as Leona, Yi and Ekko agreed verbally. ''Great, so we're in agreement about the plan.'' I said.

''Well, it's like you said, the longer we wait, the harder it's going to get, so we might aswell.'' Agnes said. ''And as long as you two are keeping Damian save, I'm keeping my promise to Alisha.'' She said, her signature smile returning to her face.

''Ok, so let's start getting ready tomorrow. For now everyone should get something to eat and get some rest, it's getting late.'' I said with a huff.

''You guys know any good places to eat around here? I'm starving!'' Damian asked, cheering up a bit.

''Hell yeah! Follow me!'' Nathalie said getting up from the loveseat before walking towards the door of the lab, being followed by Damian. ''Mark, hurry up! I'm gonna get ready to leave for that Gasthof, you coming?''

''Yeah, I'll be right there, you two go on ahead, we'll catch up.'' I said giving Nathalie a wave before turning to Agnes. ''Why didn't you tell me this before?'' I asked giving her a serious look.

''Alisha told me to only tell you if something were to happen to her and not under any other circumstance. Sorry Mark but her orders are orders, whether I like it or not.''

''I understand, no harm done.'' I said smiling her way. ''So… are you joining us for dinner at this diner thing? The food's really good and the company is always welcome.'' I said getting up from the loveseat.

''Ofcourse I will! I love going out to dinner!'' Agnes said walking up to me. ''Just give me a moment to change and we can have a good time as a team!'' She said cheerful, walking pass me, out of the lab.

 _Strike-commander, huh? Doesn't sound bad at all…_

* * *

 ** _MENTIONING OF SUICIDAL THOUGHTS IN THE UPCOMMING PART, IF YOU'RE SENSITVE TO THE SUBJECT OR IT HITS CLOSE TO HOME PLEASE SKIP THIS PART._**

* * *

''Mark… go to sleep, you've been twisting and turning all night.'' Nathalie said, hugging my back. ''I know you're worried about taking the city back, but this isn't helping.''

''It's not that I'm worried Nath, it's just that I've been thinking…'' I said rolling over to face her. Nathalie's expression changed from sleepy to wide awake within seconds.

''Oh dear, that's what my last boyfriend said before he broke up with me…'' Nathalie joked. ''But seriously, if you're thinking about breaking up with me, I will slam my shield into your face again.'' She warned me.

''No, I wouldn't dare break up with you, I'll treasure you for the rest of my life or until you get bored of me ofcourse.'' I said, earning a kiss from Nathalie.

''You're such a sweet talker, you know that.'' She said breaking up the kiss. ''Ok, seriously, what's gotten you up this late at night?'' Nathalie asked a bit concerned about the answer this time.

''It's about my dad.'' I said as Nathalie adjusted her pillow and sat up in the small bed.

''I thought so.'' Nathalie said, holding me in a comforting embrace. ''How bad is it?'' She asked with a hint of concern in her voice.

''I-I… miss him right now, I thought I had come to terms with his passing after what happened in the Respite, but when Damian started talking about that night, It just all came back to me.'' I said, rubbing my tired eyes a bit.

''Mark, you barely had any time to process what happened, to grief, to accept your father passed away. It's only natural to be sad.'' Nathalie said, holding me close to her and stroking my hair.

''I wish it were me that night…'' I said just loud enough for Nathalie to hear.

''What!? Don't you say things like that!'' Nathalie said getting a bit anxious. ''You can't just say things like that!''

''I wish it was me who died and not him, he didn't deserve to die…'' I repeated myself, earning me a slap in the face from Nathalie.

''Don't. You. Dare. Say something like that. Ever. AGAIN.'' Nathalie said, the anxiety replaced with pure fury. ''What would your parents have done if you passed away? What would Emily have done? WHAT WOULD I HAVE DONE!?'' Nathalie yelled the last part, tears forming in her eyes. ''You can't think like that you asshole!'' she yelled again before pushing me away, getting out of the bed and walking into the small bathroom, locking the door behind her.

''Nath, come on'' I tried to say, getting out of the bed. ''I didn't mean-'' I tried to say before being interrupted by her shaky voice from the other side of the room. ''SHUT THE HELL UP! Your father made the biggest sacrifice of all, saving thousands of people, hell maybe even millions! And you think it should have been you? Just so you don't have to deal with the pain of losing somebody!?'' she asked, extremely upset about what I said.

''Nathalie… I just wish-'' I got interrupted by her again. ''It was you and not him? Yeah, I've had that thought before. A million times before actually, sometimes even to the point of…'' Nathalie stopped talking, scaring herself. ''No that happened a long time ago…'' She whispered. I collapsed against the bathroom door, sliding down against the door, thinking about what Nathalie just said.

 _Has she really thought about suicide? Nath…_

''I wish it were me that died in the hospital the day I was born, Mark… I wish my mother didn't pass away that day, but she did and I lived. It's unfair. I-I…'' Nathalie stopped talking for a moment and cried for a moment.

''I wish she could have had a peaceful life with my dad, that dad didn't become this person he is now. I know what it feels like, Mark.'' Nathalie said sobbing silently, I felt a bit of pressure coming from the other side of the door, signaling that Nathalie had also put her back against the other side of the door. ''But there's a difference, your father chose to save you and he would have done it a million times over, I'm sure.'' Her voice sounded like she calmed down for a moment.

 _But it was my job to save him… Not his to save me…_

''And there's always going to be times like this, where you wish you were the one who died, but you have to think to yourself, 'Would it truly have been better if I died in their place?' Let me tell you right now. It wouldn't have been.'' Nathalie explained from the other side of the door.

Our room was completely silent, for the longest time neither of us wanted to speak up. The atmosphere in the room was beyond grim at this point. I began to think about what Nathalie had said about her problems and quickly realized that if these thoughts were troubling her, she might need me more then I need her right now.

 _I had the chance to thank my dad for everything and see him one last time before he completely passed away, Nathalie never knew her mother, she'll never know what her mother would have been like…_

I took another few minutes, recollecting my thoughts. Mostly thinking about how Nathalie must be feeling right now. This revelation shocking me aswell.

 _She's right, what was I thinking saying something like that? Dad wanted me to take care of everyone, he wanted me to live my life happily, to become a hero… God, I'm such a fucking idiot…_

''Nathalie… I need you with me… I think I understand…'' I said coming back to my senses. ''Would you please unlock this door so I can hold you close to me? I need you.''

I heard a *click* from the other side of the door. I hesitantly opened the door to reveal Nathalie sitting with her back against the wall, holding her knees with her hands.

''Nath, I never knew you felt that miserable…'' I whispered, sitting myself down next to her and throwing my arm around her, pulling her into a hug. ''Why have you never told me this before?'' I asked concerned.

''I just… hide my past from everyone, even from myself, but days like this… hell, conversations like this just make me remember those times and just make me so angry. That I could have been so stupid to think that way back then.'' Nathalie said returning the hug. ''I never told you because… well it doesn't mattered anymore, it's in the past.''

''You better be joking right now, thinking about taking your own life is a serious problem.'' I said cleaning her cheeks from the tears she had shed. ''From now on I want you to talk to me about everything, every damn thought that crosses your mind.'' I said with a stern voice.

''Heh, that's really sweet of you, sweetie.'' Nathalie said hugging me back. ''But it was a long time ago, way before we met again in college. One of my teachers found out and informed my dad, who helped me through those hard times. To this day I am grateful for that teacher finding out. If it wasn't for her...'' Nathalie said getting uncomfortable.

''It's ok Nath, I understand.'' I whispered, carefully kissing her head. I looked at Nathalie with a saddened expression and she looked back giving me a weak smile.

''I hope that promise goes both ways. If you have anything on your mind, please tell me. You are not alone anymore, Mark.'' Nathalie said gently cherishing my cheek. ''Come, we can talk some more in bed.'' She said calmly, helping me back up on my feet.

''Ofcourse it does. I'd never hide anything from you. Even if I tried, I couldn't.'' I said getting back in the bed with her. Nathalie crawled up beside me in bed and let out a sigh.

''Please never say something like that ever again.'' Nathalie said, curling up against me.

''I promise.''

We spend the rest of the night in bed talking about my dad and her mom, laughing together, crying together and comforting eachother. I was finally able to get this pain off my chest and so did Nathalie. Thanks to Nath, I was finally able to get a bit of closure, to accept that he was gone and that it's ok _._

 _I'm so glad I met you baby…_

* * *

''Wow, you two look like hell. Did you get any sleep last night?'' Damian asked, sitting at a table in the canteen, slowly eating his breakfast.

''Let's just say we spend the night working out some issues.'' Nathalie said handing me a cup of coffee.

''It took us a while to work it all out, but we managed to do a fine job if I say so myself.'' I said taking a seat next to Nathalie.

''Issues? I didn't know your relationship was in a tough spot…'' Damian said giving us a questionable look. ''Or is issues another word for…'' He said with a sly grin.

''Nah, were doing fine now, I just needed to talk about some things.'' I said, giving Nathalie a peck on the cheek. ''Issues is definitely not a code word we would use for our nightly escapades.'' I said grinning before getting a poke in my side from Nathalie.

''Could you for once not be talking about what we do behind closed doors?'' Nathalie asked holding back a smile.

''You mean what you two do underneath the covers.'' Leona corrected, laughing a bit.

''Not a word from you Leo! You pervy avatar of the sun!'' Nathalie yelled for the whole canteen to hear, making some people whisper in confusion. ''Ehem, I mean Leona I'd really appreciate it if you wouldn't spy on us again when were… intimate.'' Nathalie said embarrassed.

''Wait what? Leona spied on us? When did this happen?'' I asked confused.

''I watched your date from afar, you guys seemed like you were having a good time, walking back through the forest hand in hand, flirting a bit, kissing, undressing. But I swear I didn't watch you two doing it! Avatars promise!'' Leona said, making me and Nathalie even more uncomfortable.

''An avatars promise?'' Damian asked, hiding his smile behind his hand. ''What's that?''

''It's a thing me, Diana, Pantheon and Taric came up with a long time ago. It's become sort of a joke to us, heehee.'' Leona giggled.

''Good morning everyone!'' Agnes said, taking a seat at our table. ''You guys ready to go back to the city?'' She asked, earning confused looks from all of us.

''What are you talking about? First we need to come up with a plan, not to mention I need to know what I can expect from Damian and Ekko.'' I said confused.

''Don't worry about it, I'm only joking. There's enough time for all of that! Our plane leaves in eight hours.'' Agnes said with a smile on her face.

''Great adviser you are, making plans without consulting any of us…'' I joked, quickly taking a sip of my coffee. ''But if we're leaving today, we need to get packing.'' I said looking at Nathalie's direction.

''Oh don't worry so much, Mark. We only have one suitcase full of clothes, It'll be packed in no time.'' She said smiling bright at me.

''Really!? We're leaving today? Man, I just got done unpacking my stuff…'' Damian said annoyed.

''Not that you had a lot of stuff with you to begin with.'' Ekko said laughing a bit.

''Yo, Yi want to go meditate before we have to leave?'' I asked Yi before I forgot to do my daily meditation sessions.

''I'm glad you asked. I've been looking forward to a normal meditation session, and not one where you're healing your wounds.'' Yi laughed a bit.

''Well excuse me for being in a coma for two weeks.'' I said sarcastically, earning a few laughs from around the table. ''We'll see you all in half an hour, in the lab again? How does that sound?'' I asked the group. Everyone either nodded or agreed verbally, putting a smile on my face. ''Good, I'll see you all in a bit.'' I said, giving Nathalie a quick kiss and taking my leave.

* * *

''Mark? Are you still in here?'' Damian asked walking into the training room, breaking my concentration.

''Yes, I'm here. Did I lose track of time again?'' I said stretching my arms. ''Wouldn't want to be late to my first meeting as strike-commander.'' I said picking up the armors helmet.

''No, we got a lot of time left. I just wanted to show you what I got, you know?'' Damian said fusing with Ekko. ''C'mon lets go.''

''Oh, no, no, no. I am not fighting you, not yet.'' I said, defusing with Yi. ''You're going to just show off what you learned, that's it.

''Really? Not cool man.'' He said throwing a Timewinder and catching it again a few seconds later. ''Like Ekko said, I'm a natural.'' Damian said, creating a time clone of himself and making it throw a device on the ground, creating Parallel Convergence' time field.

''You already got a hang of your abilities, nice. That means Nath won't have to hold your hand all the time.'' I said smirking.

''Really? You thought I needed that much help? Wow, have a little faith.'' Damian said raising both his arms, laughing all the same.

''C'mon let's just get to the lab and try to think of a plan.'' I said walking off. ''If you want, you can stay and practice a bit more. You know where to find me.'' I said opening the door to the training room.

''Hey! Wait up man!'' Damian said, accidently using Phase Dive and ending up next to me. ''Uhm… Whoops?'' He said giving me an awkward smile.

''How about you spend some time here before joining us in the lab? I'll fill you in on the details when you get there.'' I said smiling at a dumbstruck Damian before walking out of the training room.

* * *

''So are we all in favor of this plan?'' I asked everyone sitting around a table in the lab.

''I mostly agree but shouldn't we first set up back at the base and see how much support we can get before hitting a command center? It might prove useful to rally the troops before attacking.'' Yi said calmly. ''I do agree with plan but pulling this off might require us to have more than four people.''

''Not a bad idea at all Yi but the moment we touch down on the ground we'll need to act fast. Every moment we spend not fighting Viktor is a window for him to do something.'' I said, considering the addition to the plan.

''What if I split from you three? I mean it's not like I'm of any use to you guys once the fighting starts.'' Agnes said. ''I could go to the base and get some support from field agents.''

''Great idea! Maybe we can use them to create a diversion!'' Damian said agreeing with Agnes.

''Well what can I say? I'm a genius after all.'' She said giving Damian a cheeky smile.

''And here I thought you were the modest type Agnes.'' Nathalie said giggling.

''It seems like we're at an agreement.'' Yi said joining in on the laughter.

''Guys, focus. Please?'' I interrupted the conversation, which was spiraling out of control. ''Sounds like a good idea Agnes. You split from us. Now Damian what command center would you recommend? You are our infiltrator after all.''

''I'd say the one closest to the airport. It's on the edge of the city so backup will take a while to get there.'' Damian said thinking about it for a moment. ''Ekko how much time would that give us to hack their system?'' Damian asked unsure of the time.

''I'd say about fifteen minutes before the first backup arrives, maybe twenty depending on who it is.'' Ekko said deep in thought. ''In this time we need to take care of the herald defending the center and take the intel. What happens after that is up to Mark.''

''I see…'' I said scratching my chin in thought. ''Agnes how much do you know about Lucian?'' I asked thinking of a plan.

''Well he's a champion who lost his wife to Thresh, he has duel wield pistols, he's single.'' Agnes said muttering facts about the champion making me face-palm.

''I meant the guy who's running around the city! C'mon!'' I said a bit annoyed, earning a few snorts and giggles. ''A while back you mentioned Alisha fought him before and the under armor not being able to regenerate after taking damage. Any more we can learn from that?''

''Oh, right heehee.'' Agnes giggled a bit embarrassed. ''Uhm let's see, he's pretty new to his powers just like Damian, I've never seen him use The Culling before so be careful and I think he's a pretty old guy.'' Agnes said thinking back to Alisha's fight.

''That's all?'' I asked.

''Yep, that's all the information I can give you.'' Agnes said smiling.

''Well it's better than nothing I suppose.'' Leona said a bit bummed out. ''So are we going to do this?'' She asked enthusiastically.

''Hell yeah!'' Ekko yelled getting pumped aswell.

''Well alright then. Let's get to packing our stuff and get our butts to the airport.'' Nathalie said with a smile. Everyone took this as the signal to leave and stood up.

''Nath can I have a quick word with you? It's important.'' I asked, earning a nod from her.

''What's up?'' Nathalie asked as Agnes and Damian left the room.

''I wanted to tell you to do anything in your power to keep Damian save. I don't care what happens out there, but I want you to keep him save, even if he doesn't want you to.'' I said frowning.

''Mark, I know what I have to do, you assigned me that task so I'm damn well going to.'' She said giving me a confident look.

''And one more thing.'' I said, earning me a bored look. ''Stay save out there. I don't want you to get hurt.'' I said embracing her. ''This will be your first field operation, I'll be taking the lead for the first time and we got Damian out there for the first time aswell.''

''So?'' Nathalie asked returning the hug.

''I want you to realize that things might go bad, and that I'm not sure how the team is going to adapt to it. We've been flying solo on most missions. I guess what I trying to say is… I'm nervous.'' I said, barely getting the words out of my mouth.

''Heh, you? Nervous? No way.'' Nathalie said clinging to my body before giving me a kiss on the lips. ''You've got nothing to worry about, we're going to do great.'' Nathalie said breaking the kiss.

''Hmmm, I'll never get tired of those lips.'' I said, earning a loving smile from Nathalie. ''So what do you want to do in the last few hours before we leave? Got any plans?'' I asked, wiggling my eyebrows.

''Obviously yes, I still need to pack up and I wanted to say goodbye to the Hardt family.'' Nathalie explained, while I gave her a confused look. ''Sigh, the people from the diner?'' Nathalie said, earning a ''Aha'' from me.

''So when are we going to do it like there's no tomorrow? You know, like in the movies?'' I asked giving Nathalie my best pair of puppy-eyes. ''Or are you more of a Mile high club kinda girl?'' I said grinning.

''How is it that you can be such a good, romantic and loving boyfriend but at other times you're worse than a horny teenager?'' Nathalie asked as we walked towards our room.

''You know me, always joking around.'' I said sticking my tongue playfully.

''Let's just get packing and saying goodbye, you goofball.'' Nathalie said laughing.

 _So close to getting some, damn…_

* * *

After packing our stuff and saying goodbye to the Austrian family we had to hurry. Nathalie took a bit longer than expected to pack all her stuff… So long that we barely made it on the plane on time…

''Does everyone have their tickets? It shows where your seat is.'' Agnes said, walking through the plane with a small suitcase.

''I think so.'' Damian said. ''Nathalie you and I are seated next to eachother, maybe me and Mark could switch?'' Damian asked, making Nathalie smile bright.

''I'd love that, thank you Damian.'' She said giving him a hug.

''Here you go, just make sure you don't lose it.'' Damian said exchanging tickets with me. ''Oh, sweet this is my seat.''

As Damian took his seat, me and Nath looked for our seats but we couldn't find them. ''Uhm, ma'am we can't find our seats, would you help us out?'' Nathalie asked a stewardess in the back.

''Oh dear there must have been a mistake, these seats were removed last month…'' The young woman said thinking for a moment. ''Come with me, we'll get you two some new seats.'' She said walking towards the front of the plane. ''If I may be so bold to ask, what is a young couple doing in Austria at this time of year? The skiing season just ended and it isn't really hiking season yet.'' The stewardess asked ticking in some information on a small tablet.

''Medical procedure.'' I said.

''Vacation.'' Nathalie said.

''Well, uhm… Yeah. A bit of both.'' Nathalie said quickly, with a nervous smile. ''My boyfriend had a operation on his legs and I had to go with him, so a bit of both, heehee.'' She said giggling.

''How nice of you to go with him, that's so sweet.'' The stewardess said smiling at Nathalie's comment. ''Well, there isn't enough space in this class, so because this is our fault I'll upgrade you two to first class.''

''Wow! Really!?'' Nathalie said wide-eyed. ''Thank you so much!''

''These are your seat numbers, have a good flight you two.'' The stewardess said with a smile.

''Sweet! First class!'' Nathalie said taking a seat in a super comfy looking chair. I took my seat next to her and stretched my legs.

''Wow, this is great. And look around there's barely anyone around. It's almost like we got the plane for ourselves.'' I said putting my arm around Nathalie, letting out a yawn. ''I think I'm just going to sleep through the flight, after last night I could use all the rest I can get.''

''Wait, really? I thought you wanted to join the Mile high club?'' Nathalie said giving me a nudge in the side.

''It was just a joke Nath… Anyway I'm way too tired for this, you should get some sleep aswell, you'll find that you have a lot more power that way.'' I said yawning again.

''I guess I better get comfy then, heehee.'' Nathalie said raising her armrest and scooting over to me. ''Ah, much better.'' She said resting against me.

''This is your captain speaking, we will begin to get ready for takeoff…''

After the plane reached its attitude, I felt my mind slipping. My eyes got heavier as I turned around in the chair putting an arm around Nathalie before falling asleep.

''We need to talk.'' Nathalie's voice rang through the white room I was standing in.

''Nath? Where are we?'' I asked confused, looking around the white room. ''What's going on?''

''I am not this person you speak of. I sensed you hold a strong feeling to this person, so I took its form.'' Her voice began to distort and the form changed. ''Does this form please you more?'' The thing changed into Natalie again, nearly naked this time.

''NOPE!'' I said turning around. ''That is freaking weird!''

''Your feelings say otherwise.'' The thing said confused. ''Fine, how is this?''

I carefully turned around and was met with my father. ''What the hell are you? Clearly you aren't my dad or Nathalie…'' I said, carefully walking backwards.

''You cannot run from me Mark, I am a part of you.'' It said, disappearing from view before reappearing behind me.

''Then what are you? Explain yourself!'' I said panicked.

''I am what you humans call, the overdrive protocol.'' It said. ''I do not approve of this name but I suppose it will have to do…'' It said crossing its arms.

''But how is that even possible? I thought the protocol was a tool created with magic and technology.'' I said confused.

''I am, but I became self-aware due to the magic energy flowing through me.'' The being said.

''How about you show your real form and not play tricks on me.'' I said annoyed. ''I mean if you're self-aware you must have a body, right?''

''Very well, if it pleases you.'' The being changed into one of pure energy, comparable to Xerath, but not bound by chains and runes. ''As you can see, I am pure energy and nothing else.''

''Runeterrans sure know how to create things out of magic.'' I said inspecting the being in awe. ''Why are you here? Why now of all times?'' I asked unsure.

''I've come to warn you.'' It said. ''Like I've done in the past.''

''What are you talking about? This is the first time, I've never seen or talked to you before.'' I said confused.

''Our communication has been one-sided indeed, I mostly show you something that might happen, these moments shape our connection, making you able to use my power.'' The being explained.

''So you're the reasons I keep having visions and nightmares…'' I said thinking about what the being was telling. ''You're the one that keeps showing me the future! The falling, my broken legs… shaped our bond?''

''They did, these moments I show you are opportunities to improve your emotions and prevent certain things.'' It said. ''Take for example the girl, you've grown closer to her, your emotions for her improve your ability to tap into my power.''

''And the vision about my legs?'' I asked. ''I mean I failed to prevent it.''

''Merely a missed opportunity to save time, but I have to say it still made you stronger…'' The being explained.

''What about the visions coming from Yi's past?'' I asked confused. ''Those aren't preventable.''

''Ah yes the Ionian… He is mostly in my way. Yet he is important to your power.'' The being explained. ''I do not know why you keep seeing his memories…''

''Riiiight… Whatever that means.'' I said. ''What did you come to show me this time? And why talk to me this time and not just show me?'' I asked the being.

''I need you to understand that this conversation between us can't be shared, not even with your female friend.'' The being said. ''What I'm going to show you, needs to be prevented by you and you alone.''

''And if I fail?'' I asked afraid of the consequence. The being stared at me before speaking up.

''Our connection will weaken to the point where my power becomes unusable…'' The being explained.

 _What could possibly happen, what could be so bad that I won't be able to use the overdrive anymore… Something that changes my emotions…_

''Is Nathalie going to get hurt!?'' I asked shocked.

''No. Let me show you, before our time is over.'' The being said walking up to me before pushing me backwards.

I fell through the white floor, shattering it. Shards of white fell around me as I felt my mind drift off again. The shards hit the ground around me and turned to a black smoke. The smoke formed a scene in front of me, showing a school.

I slowly got to my feet and looked at a Battlecast hovering in front of a young girl, at the gate of the school.

''Target Identified as Emilia 'Emily' O' Neill. Where is your relative knows as Markus 'Mark' O' Neill? Fail to comply and you will be disintegrated.'' The Vel'Koz model's eye glowed an ominous red.

''I-I don't know what you're talking about… My name isn't Emily… My name's Luxanna'' Emily lied nervously. _Really? That's the name you choose to use as your fake name Emily… Really?_

''Lie detected. Where is your relative? You have five seconds to comply.'' The Battlecast said readying its tentacles. ''Five, four, three, two-''

''Fine! I don't know!'' Emily yelled with tears in her eyes. ''For all I know he's dead!'' She said beginning to cry.

''Lie detected. Disintegration imminent.'' Vel'Koz said firing his Lifeform Disintegration Ray, killing Emily in the process.

I raised my hand trying to stop the scene before me, my hand was shaking violently, I looked at the scene wanting to cry.

''Like I said, this needs to be prevented.'' The being said reappearing as the smoke cleared and the white room appeared again.

''When will this happen!? I NEED TO KNOW NOW! TELL ME!'' I said trying to grab a hold of the being, wanting to shake him violently.

''The moment your plane lands, you will have five minutes.'' The being said emotionless. ''Fail and you know what happens.'' The being said once again with its monotone voice. ''Good luck Markus.'' It said disappearing.

''Mark! Mark! Wake up!'' Nathalie called out to me, shaking me violently. My eyes shot open as I grabbed her arms, panting heavily. ''Jesus Christ you scared the shit out of me.'' Nathalie said letting go of me.

''What happened?'' I asked as I felt my cheeks were wet. I looked around me and noticed two stewardesses next to our seats exchanging worried glances. ''Did I…?''

''You had another nightmare, I think… You were screaming out for Emily. Are you ok?'' Nathalie said looking me in the eyes.

''Yeah… It wasn't a good dream.'' I said holding my head in my hands.

''Sir would you like something to drink? A bit of water before we land?'' One of the stewardesses asked.

''No thanks, I'll just take a moment to calm down, I'll be fine, thank you.'' I said taking a deep breath. The stewardess nodded with a worried smile and walked away, giving me and Nathalie some space.

''That must have been one hell of a nightmare, you were crying.'' Nathalie said with a worried look on her face. ''Do you want to talk about it? Was it your dad?''

''No, it was Emily. She's going to get hurt if I don't do something…'' I said thinking about the vision. _She was at her school… Wait!_ ''Nath how long until we land!'' I asked shaking Nathalie a bit.

''Uhm… ten minutes I think, I'm not sure. The stewardess just said it as well, ugh I'm such a dummy heehee.'' She giggled at her own joke. I let out a deep sigh and sat back in my seat.

''FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! Ugh…'' I nearly yelled through the plane, covering my eyes with my hands out of frustration, startling Nathalie a bit. I calmed down and let out a sigh before continuing.

''Nathalie I'm going to do something when we land, it's going to notify Viktor that I'm still alive, but I have to do it. Emily's life depends on it.'' I said looking at Nathalie who was thinking about what I was saying. ''Please you have to trust me.'' I said after a moment of silence.

''I trust you to make the right decision.'' Nathalie said giving me a determined look. ''What do you need me to do?''

''I need you to take Damian to the command center and wait for me to get there. I'll be gone for ten minutes, maybe a bit longer but I'll be there. I promise.'' I said holding her hands. ''I need you to lead for me until I come back. I know you can do it.'' Nathalie looked away from me with a worried look.

''Ladies and gentleman this is your captain speaking we are getting ready to land.'' The captain explained over the intercom of the plane.

''Hey, look at me. I need to do this.'' I said cupping her chin, making her look at me.

''I know.'' Nathalie said giving me a loving look. ''I know you do.''

I pulled her closer to me as we shared a kiss, a long kiss. Sure it wasn't super romantic but that special feeling was there. Nathalie cherished my cheek with her hand as I stroked her hair a bit before the kiss was interrupted as the plane began to touch down on the ground and lower its speed.

''Ladies and gentleman we have safely arrived at our destination. The current time is eight fifteen AM. A beautiful day, in the city, please make sure to have identification at the ready as you leave the plane.'' The captain said.

''I need to get going, I don't have long.'' I said getting up, before being stopped by Nathalie.

''Mark, save her life… and be careful.'' Nathalie said letting go of my hand.

''I will… I promise.''

 _I'll save her and after that… I'm coming for you Viktor…_

* * *

 **Well gosh darn my peeps! Long time no see! I don't remember how long it's been since I updated but I just couldn't bring myself to not upload any longer! Chapter freaking 20, you guys don't know happy it makes me to be able to reach such a milestone! I'm really greatful for all the support you guys have given me, Discord squad or not, you all make me feel appreciated so much!**

 **I've been super busy with school… Most of my exams are over but now come the presentations and papers I have to turn in. The worst part is that our class fell behind on the assignments because of the small vacation periods inbetween weeks, and ofcourse I could barely write because I had to do stuff with my family :I**

 **Turned out to be pretty fun I suppose… But I still feel bad for taking so long to upload. I promised I would make a huge chapter but like I said I couldn't bring myself to not upload for so long so I decided to split it in the end. Sorry discord squad, I lied ;-;**

 **In the time that I haven't uploaded I want to thank everyone who started following, favorited, reviewed and joined the Discord channel! You guys are the best!**

 **Man talking about Discord makes me want to advertise the Discord channel… So like always I'm gonna tell you to: Enter the discord channel by typing in: discord dot gg /BWpaKr9**

 **Just remember to be respectful to others and don't be racist and we can all have a good time k? We're having a great time but it could be even better with more peeps, so don't hesitate! Come join us!**

 **We got the writer of The Dawn has Arrived and The writer of Summoning Magic in here aswell, and all of us would just love it if you joined us! So as you can read we got a lively bunch of writers waiting for your questions!**

 **We also have weekly drafts of Project Earth and sometimes drafts of TDHA so make sure to tune in for sneak peeks at upcoming chapters! I'd love to hear your opinion and thought and So does Fic, I'm sure of it!**

 **I'm not sure when the next chapter will be out but I'll try my best to get it out by next week, so keep an eye on your mail if you're following, and if you don't… Well what are you waiting for and follow! Reviews are always welcome aswell!**

 **Welp my peeps, that's it for this chapter,**

 **I'll see you guys and gals next time, until then,**

 **Emerald out!**


	21. Chapter 21

PROJECT Earth

Chapter 21: Family matters (Season 1 finale part 2)

 _Five minutes… In five minutes I'll be too late… I can't be late… No, I'll make it, no matter what..._

I walked into the arrivals hall, looking for an exit before being stopped by one of Viktor's security robots. _Ah, great these things walk around public places too now?_

''Identification is required from this point forward.'' It said, standing in front of me. ''If you are not in possession of a valid identification you will be removed from the city, this is to prevent terrorist attacks. Thank you for your understanding.'' _Pfff, more like Viktor likes to hold tabs on people…_

''I really don't have time for this.'' I said, pushing the machine to the side. In response the machine grabbed my arm and repeated itself.

''Identification is required.'' The machine said, its grip around my arm tightening.

''Ok that's it, I've heard enough… Yi!'' I yelled as Yi's armor formed around me. My blade floated in front of me before I grabbed it.

''High power source detected, contacting authorities High alert proto-'' The machine was interrupted by my blade as I made a clean cut across its neck, beheading the machine.

''Next time someone tells you that they don't have time, leave them alone.'' I said as I massaged the spot on my arm where the machine had grabbed.

''Mark, we don't have time to waste. We only have four minutes remaining.'' Yi remembered me of what I needed to do.

''Right…'' I said nodding. ''Yi activate the stealth drive, I want to stay hidden for as long as possible.'' Yi complied as the armors colorful neon orange began to dim and turned black.

''Ready to go.'' Yi said as I activated Highlander and took off towards the exit of the building. I was so preoccupied with saving Emily that I didn't even notice the people around me cheering.

I shot through the city at high speed, it was another day filled with traffic, I narrowly dodged a pair of incoming cars as I made my way to Emily's high school. _Alisha's training sessions in the crowded city really were good for something. Who would have guessed?_

''Yi how much further?'' I asked as I ran pass a couple of parked cars.

''You're nearly there but I don't think we'll make it at this speed.'' Yi said worried. ''Time is running out, and we still have quite the distance to travel.''

''Got it, faster it is!'' I said as I began to test my limits once more. ''I wanted to save this as a last resort but I guess I have no choice but to use it…'' I murmured as I began focusing on the Overdrive.

''Mark? What are you talking about?'' Yi asked confused before being surprised by the speed we were reaching.

* * *

''Target Identified as Emilia 'Emily' O' Neill. Where is your relative knows as Markus 'Mark' O' Neill?'' The Vel'Koz model asked hovering inches away from Emily. ''Fail to comply and you will be disintegrated.'' It said in its metal, monotone voice.

''I-I don't know what you're talking about… My name isn't Emily… M-my name's Luxanna'' Emily lied nervously moving a lock of blond hair behind her ear.

''Lie detected. Where is your relative. You have five seconds to comply.'' The Battlecast began to float a bit lower and readied its tentacles to fire its disintegration ray. ''Five, four, three, two-''

''Ok, ok, Fine! I am Emily O' Neill! But… but I don't know where my brother is!'' Emily said, tears forming in her eyes. ''For all I know Mark is dead!'' She said beginning to weep, dropping to her knees.

''Lie detected. Disintegration…'' Vel'Koz suddenly stopped storing up energy and turned away from Emily. ''High power source in close proximity. Contacting Creato-'' The Battlecast turned around to face the way before being tackled down to the ground by a black flash, the machine let out a metallic screech as both me and it hit the ground.

Its tentacles shot up into the air before wrapping around me, constricting me in the machines grasp. ''Scanning. Target detected. High alert protocol activated.'' Vel'Koz said throwing me into the brick wall of the school, making a few teachers and students run in panic.

''Ouch…'' I said slowly getting up from the ground, scattered with bricks from the wall.

''Prioritizing target.'' Vel'Koz said as he looked at Emily. The mechanical monstrosity quickly charged Emily, trying to get a hold of her. She screamed in fear as the Battlecast got closer to her before being lifted off the ground.

''Got ya.'' I said carrying her in my arms. ''Stay put until I tell you it's save, got it?'' I asked Emily. She quickly replied by nodding a few times before I rushed off to fight the small Battlecast.

''Target lost. Beginning environmental scan.'' The mechanical void beast said.

''Looking for me, four eyes?'' I asked standing behind the machine as it slowly turned around to face me. ''Wait you actually have four eyes, damn there goes my joke…'' I said putting a hand on my chin, thinking about another comment to make before having to dodge a set of missiles.

''Calculating reply… You talk too much.'' The Battlecast said before slamming its tentacle down towards me.

''Wow was that an attempt at a comeback? I'm actually impressed.'' I said raising my sword to slice through the mechanical tentacle with Wuju Style. ''Too bad your performance wasn't that good, you didn't make the cut sorry bud.'' I joked as the tentacle fell next to me. ''Hehe, cut.''

''Calculating odds… Repairs are required, retreating.'' The Battlecast said firing another set of missiles and a Tectonic Disruption before starting to hover away.

''Aw cute, it thinks it can run.'' I said with a chuckle before dodging the attacks thrown my way and setting chase with Highlander. ''Hey man, you dropped something back there.'' I said catching up to Vel'Koz. I jumped up against a building to launch myself above the Battlecast and threw my sword trough the head of the machine, nailing it to the ground. ''Let me be the better man here and return the favor.''

''Ca-ca-cal-calcula-t-t-t-iiiiiinnnnnngg… Def-f-f-ea-t-t-t-t.'' The Battlecast said with a distorted voice before the light in its eyes turned off. I walked up and pulled my blade out of the machine before inspected my handy work.

''Pretty clean if I say so myself.'' I said dusting off the remaining dust from being slammed into the brick wall of the school.

''And that with minimal damage to the city. We really are making progress.'' Yi said laughing a bit. ''Don't forget about Emily. She's still waiting on you remember?'' Yi said reminding me to turn back, leaving the metal carcass behind.

''Hey, are you ok?'' I asked crouching down in front of Emily.

''Yeah, I'm fine, thanks for saving me.'' She before starting to sniffle a bit. ''Mark, is it really you?''

''Ofcourse it's really me, why would you ask such a weird question?'' Right after replying to her question I remembered I still had the stealth drive activated. ''Ah, I see why. Yi would you mind?'' I asked as Yi turned off the stealth drive. Emily smiled at the sight of the orange color of the armor, like it was a signal for her that it really was me.

''Oh Mark! I missed you so much!'' She yelled hugging me. ''I-I-I'm so sorry for what I said back in the hospital!'' She said crying tears of happiness. I took off the helmet of the armor and gave her a stern look before smiling, making her smile aswell.

''I know you didn't mean it. I was mad at myself aswell for what happened to dad, but he made a choice that night and I'll honor him for it by watching over the city, even the world if I have to.'' I said putting the helmet down next to us before enjoying the reunion to its fullest.

''I have so much I need to tell you!'' She said giving me a look filled with excitement. Before Emily could continue talking again I raised my armored hand, silencing her.

''I need to go. Nathalie is waiting on me.'' I said picking up the helmet. ''You need to get out of here before more Battlecasts show up. Go home to mom and stay there.'' I ordered.

''How is Nathalie doing!? She disappeared almost without a trace with you two weeks ago! Did you two run off and get married? Tell me!'' Emily said getting impatient, making me chuckle a bit.

''No, we didn't get married. Now go, get out of here. The city is going to be in complete chaos, I don't want you to be in danger.'' I said getting back up and putting my helmet back on.

''Promise me you'll come back to tell me and mom what happened…'' Emily said holding me in a hug that would make a wrestler jealous. ''Cause if you walk off again, I'm going to be pissed.''

''Heh, I promise I'll tell you two most of it, I'll leave out some details ofcourse.'' I laughed as Emily gave me a disgusted look and let go of me.

''I'll tell mom you're ok.'' Emily said waving to me as I ran off with Highlander active.

 _Marriage huh? Heh that gremlin sure has some imagination…_

* * *

''Agnes we're in position but I don't see a herald guarding the place.'' Damian said looking around the command center. ''Not to mention its way to dark in here, I can't see a thing.''

The command center we entered looked almost abandoned, the lights were turned off inside and there was barely any power. The only thing lighting up the dark room was the light of our armors. The green and yellow lights scaring the shadows away.

''I don't like this one bit.'' I said, taking a closer look at the dust forming on one of the tables. ''I mean this place is deserted.''

''It doesn't matter as long as you two got power, you should be able to hack into the network. Just let Ekko and Damian do their thing.'' Agnes said over the coms.

''I think we found the pc were looking for.'' Damian and I said in unison as we walked up to a huge monitor connected to multiple wires and computers.

''What makes you two say that!?'' Agnes asked getting excited.

''This thing is huge. Nath make sure no one sneaks up on us, I got this.'' Damian said cracking his knuckles and stretching his fingers before opening a holographic hacking tool and going to work on the pc.

''Nath I don't like this place. There is supposed to be a herald guarding this place right? What if it's an ambush?'' Leona asked as we scouted the place.

''I know Leo, I feel the same way but we need this information if we want to know what Viktor is up to.'' I said crouching to inspect some footsteps in the dust. ''Leo you're better at tracking than I am, how fresh are these prints?''

''Good find! These have to be recent… That means that the person may still be in the facility...'' Leona said deep in thought. ''Damian! Ekko! Hurry up! We don't have long before the herald returns!'' Leona yelled through the room.

''Yeah, yeah don't rush us.'' Damian said getting nervous. ''We almost got everything. Agnes how much of this are you getting?'' Ekko asked Agnes.

''A ton of information, blue prints, programs, a ton of advanced stuff. Wait! That's it! You guys can stop. I got an encrypted file with hints about a power source. I'll get to decrypting directly! Now go! Get out!'' Agnes said excited.

Damian let out a sigh of relief before closing the holographic menu's he used to hack the pc. ''C'mon let's go. I don't want to be here when that herald comes back.'' He said walking towards the exit and opened the door. ''Nath you coming?'' Damian asked as he walked out of the command center.

''Mark? Yeah it's me, we got the data we needed, Agnes is decrypting it right now, we'll know our next move in a few minutes.'' I said over the coms. ''Is Emily ok?'' I asked carefully.

''That's great! We can get to work on taking the city back, I'll regroup with you two in a few minutes.'' Mark sounded happy. ''Emily is save, I made sure she went home. I'll be there in fifteen minutes, love you.'' He said casually, making me smile.

''Dawww, you two are so cute together.'' Leona said making me blush.

''C'mon you gossip girl we need to get clear before it's too late.'' I said smiling as I walked up to Damian.

''Took you long enough. What did Mark say? Is he pleased with the results?'' Damian asked. I walked up to him, inches away. I was about to put my hand on his shoulder when I noticed a strange object flying towards us.

''DAMIAN WATCH OUT!'' I yelled jumping in front of him, raising shield to protect us as I blocked the impact of the object, which bounced off of my shield and fell to the ground, exploding. I dug my shield into the ground, creating a blast shield which made sure I was able to protect Damian. Most of the blast was contained due to my shield absorbing it, but the power threw me off my feet.

''Hmpf, ofcourse the girl blocks it.'' A mechanical voice said as the smoke cleared, I traced the voice back to a man with white dreads and two pistols, twirling them around as if he expected the outcome. Next to him stood the guy same guy from the festival, Yasuo.

''Nathalie! Are you ok!?'' Damian rushed to my side, supporting my back with his hand. ''YOU BASTARD HOW ARE YOU OK WITH ALL THIS!'' He yelled at the augmented ronin.

''Didn't I tell you to leave this place and to never come back?'' Yasuo said, putting his hand on the hilt of his blade. ''You know the consequences of returning here.''

''What is going on here? Damian do you know this guy?'' I hissed in pain as I grabbed my sword from the ground before getting up again.

''You haven't told them have you? Is it out of fear, Damian? Or out of shame?'' Yasuo said chuckling lightly. ''Well, go on… Tell her who I am to you and your sister.''

''Shut the hell up! You stopped being my father when you decided it was a good idea to work with Viktor! Not to mention the things you did to us before Viktor appeared! The abuse! The beatings! You are nothing to me or Alisha!'' Damian yelled with hitched breaths.

 _Damian… Why didn't you tell us before?_

''I see how it is.'' Damian's father said calmly. ''Flynn you take the girl, I take that little runt.'' He said tightening his grip on the hilt of his blade.

''With pleasure.'' The other guy said as he stopped twirling his pistols and pointed both at me.

I looked over to Damian who stood completely still, glued to the ground. I wasn't sure if he was afraid or angry but I had to protect him at any cost. ''Damian stay close to me, if anything happens I'll be able to protect you, I promise.'' I said trying to get him to answer me.

''Stop me if I try to kill him. He doesn't deserve to die. Yet.'' Damian said, holding his baton up with two hands. His father started to laugh uncontrollably at his comment.

''Do you really think.'' He said pulling his blade from its sheath. ''That you can best me? Your sister couldn't and neither will you.'' He said beginning to charge Damian.

I stood in his way, blocking the charge with my shield. ''If you want to get to him, you'll have to go through me first.'' I said pushing him back.

''With pleasure.'' Yasuo said as he dashed pass me, pulling out his blade at the very last second creating a cut in my side. In response I slashed at him with my sword which was blocked within a second by the butt of a pistol.

''Ah, ah, ah. You're my problem pretty bird, boss man said so himself.'' The other guy said as he pushed my sword away with the butt of his pistol. ''You're allowed to be amazed by my skills. The name´s Flynn and I'm the deadliest assassin in the world when it comes to guns.'' He said cockily while forcing me away from Damian and his father fighting.

''Pfff, amazed? You're just another crook with a gun.'' I said unimpressed as I slashed at him with my sword. ''Hell you're so slow, my grandma could keep up a fight with you!'' I mocked as Flynn desperately blocked my blade again with his pistol.

''Lucian why would you be ok with this? You used to fight with us!'' Leona tried reasoning with the champion the man was fused with, as I raised my shield to block a strange cross-like projectile fired from his pistols, it hit my shield but penetrated it, leaving a slight burning feeling on my body. ''Answer me!'' Leona demanded.

''Ugh, can you shut your champion up?'' Flynn asked annoyed, firing a double shot from his pistols which were blocked again by my shield. ''I suppose you don't have the willpower to suppress her, damn this is going to be a pain in the ass.'' Flynn said, running around me, firing multiple short bursts of rounds into my shield.

'' _At this rate Yasuo's going to overpower Damian… We need to do something, Leona got any ideas?''_ I asked mentally, while blocking another set of attacks. _''I can't keep up with him anymore for some reason.''_

'' _It's because we got hit with Ardent Blaze, the cross thing he fired. Every time he hits us anywhere, he gains a small burst of speed, that way he can run and gun… But I got an idea.''_ Leona said as I readied my shield. _''Just hear me out on this one and follow my lead.''_

''Enough!'' I yelled activating Shield of Daybreak and throwing myself forward from behind the shield, attempting to bash the guy with my shield.

''Ha, nice try pretty bird.'' Flynn said mockingly as he but a foot against my shield and used it as a launchpad, vaulting off of my shield, while in mid-air he fired another set of rounds at me hitting me in my shoulder before landing flawlessly on his feet, still aiming his weapons at me. ''Getting tired birdie? Or was that just you being sloppy?''

I put my shield on the ground and hid behind it, dropping my sword next to me so I could hold my shoulder in pain. ''Hurts don't it?'' I heard Flynn call from the other side of my shield. ''Pure energy burning into your armor. Good luck with that.'' I could hear his footsteps getting closer to my shield as I readied myself. ''C'mon on out pretty bird, surrender and I might let you live as my pretty little songbird, it would be a shame if I had to clip your wings.'' I heard his footsteps stop near my shield.

He fired a beam from both pistols into my shield, making me cry out in pain as the beam penetrated my shield just like the Ardent Blaze, the only difference was this one hurt a lot more than the Ardent Blaze.

''NOW'' Leona yelled as I kicked my shield out of the ground, towards him, distracting him and using Zenith Blade to get closer to him. Flynn fired a set of rounds after I got near, but Leona and I already predicted this as I spun out of the way, giving me an opening to grab my shield. I picked it up and threw it into him, knocking him away a few feet. With a loud thud Flynn fell to the ground.

''Heh, so the little birdie still has some tricks hidden up her sleeve.'' He said getting up, while clutching the part of his stomach that got hit by the shield. ''You forgot one little detail. You threw away the only thing blocking the bullets.'' He said cockily as he fired a barrage of bullets.

As the rain of bullets got closer, I panicked and tried summoning a Solar Flare, my sword started to glow bright as a beam of energy shot down from the sky. _That'll stop him!_

Flynn dashed forward, avoiding my attack while still firing more bullets. I was stunned by his dodge. _How? We planned for all of this. Didn't we?_ I didn't have more time to think as the first of the bullets began to hit me, with every bullet that hit, the burning feeling got worse, every shot of the barrage hit me, nearly destroying my armor completely.

At the end of the barrage I could barely stand on my feet. With my armor in tatters I tried raising my sword to fight back. Flynn just chuckled at my final attempt as he put his guns together, firing another beam into me, knocking me to the ground.

My vision blurred a bit as I searched for my sword which I dropped when I fell to the ground. I could see a shadow towering over me and two guns being aimed at my head. ''Like I said pretty bird, I'm the deadliest assassin in the world.'' He said twirling one of his guns, throwing it and catching it without looking, still pointing the other gun at my head.

''When it comes to guns, no one is better than me.'' During his monologue, I found my sword and tried to slash at him, but Flynn was too quick and shot two shots into my arm, making me cry out in pain. ''Now, now little birdie stop trying to play tricks on me.'' He said crouching over me. ''I wouldn't want to hurt you.'' He said carefully running an armored finger over my cheek, before playing with my hair.

''You disgust me. Do you really think I'm just going to surrender and go with you?'' I asked before spitting in his visor. ''You disgusting ape.'' I said venom marking my words. Flynn clearly wasn't expecting the remark. He quickly wiped away the saliva mixed with a bit of blood from his visor and put a pistol against my head.

''Why you! I should just blow a hole straight into your-'' ''Enough. Know your place Flynn.'' Yasuo interrupted sheathing his blade. ''You have your orders, no killing the champions.''

''I'm an assassin, not a soldier.'' Flynn said getting back up, still pointing his pistols at me. ''I don't take orders, I kill and get payed.''

''You know what will happen to you if you don't follow the orders, Viktor will have your head and you know it.'' Yasuo said coldly. ''Now hold down my son, I need to talk to this one.'' Flynn complied and pointed his pistols at a downed Damian as Yasuo waked over to me.

''You're going to get on the coms and tell your little boyfriend that you failed, after this moment you will die, I just need him here to see it.'' Yasuo said sinisterly as his shadow towered over me.

''Go to hell.'' I said earning myself a foot in the stomach making me cough uncontrollably.

''Do it or he dies.'' Yasuo said pointing at Damian. ''I should have gotten rid of him a long time ago anyway.''

''You're bluffing, Viktor will have your head if you lost a champion for your own selfish kicks.'' I said cracking a grin.

''Have it your way.'' Yasuo said grabbing me by the collar of my armor and threw me into a nearby wall, knocking the air out of my lungs before I hit the ground, hard. Yasuo quickly walked up to my grounded form and pulled me up again by my armor, holding me in place. ''Now get on the coms with Yi and that boy or I will kill Damian slowly and a lot worse than I was planning on doing.'' Yasuo ordered, his armored mask inches away from my face before dropping me to the ground again with a thud.

I coughed and gasped for air before weakly raising a hand against my visors earpiece, activating the coms. ''Mark.'' I said still trying to breath steadily. ''I'm so sorry, I couldn't stop him.'' I said feeling a tear run down my cheek.

''Nath? NATHALIE! I need you to hold out for a few more seconds, I'm almost there!'' I could barely make out the last part of his sentence as Yasuo pulled off my helmet and crushed it underneath his foot.

I looked down to the ground, beaten and bloodied. I could feel the burning feeling the bullets had left all over my body while still trying to regain control over my breathing. _So this is what it feels like to be a hero, huh… It could be worse, I suppose…_

''Time for you to die.'' Yasuo said pulling his blade from his sheath. The sound of the metal of his blade coming out of the sheath send chills down my spine. He inspected his blade, carefully cherishing the touch of its metal between his fingers as he ran the blade between them.

''Hey boss man, hurry up I got money to collec-'' Flynn was interrupted by a lightning fast punch, sending him flying through the automatic doors of the command center.

I looked pass Yasuo with a smile filled with hope on my face as I saw Mark standing next to Damian, his armor creating sparks of pure energy, radiating off of his body. ''Don't you dare touch her like that, ever again.'' He said looking in the direction Flynn was thrown.

Within a second of Mark appearing, Yasuo pulled me up by my hair making me yell in pain and forced me to my feet as he put his blade near my throat. ''You move and I'll slit her throat.'' Yasuo said coldly. My breathing hitched as Yasuo raised his sword closer to my throat.

''C'mon Damian get up, I need you for this.'' Mark said offering Damian a hand before helping him back to his feet. ''You know what to do.'' Mark said out loud, making Yasuo tense up and moved his sword up against my throat, remaining motionless.

''Don't forget who's holding the stings here boy.'' Yasuo warned. ''Any sudden moves from you and I'll spill the insides of her neck.'' Damian tried to throw a small device at Yasuo, but instead collapsed again, making the device roll towards Yasuo who started laughing as he crushed the device with his blade. ''Even to others you're a disappointment.'' Yasuo mocked.

Yasuo pulled back his blade near my throat, still laughing. All hope I previously had was gone as I felt the tears roll down my face faster. _I'm not ready to die… I-I can't… He can't…_ ''LET GO OF ME YOU FREAK! MARK, MARK I LOVE YOU!'' I screamed in panic as I struggled to get loose, tears beginning to stream down my face uncontrollably.

''I know you do.'' Mark said unaffected by the situation. ''I love you too, with all my heart.'' He said without a single hint of fear or anger. _Almost as if…_

''He doesn't even love you. If he loved you he would be pleating for your life.'' Yasuo said mockingly. ''He used you as an object, pathetic.'' I felt stupid, so stupid as what Yasuo said was getting to me. I looked down at the ground, almost accepting what Yasuo was saying. _No, Mark loves me! I just know, he does!_

''I'll miss you.'' I whispered as Yasuo moved back his blade to execute me. I closed my eyes accepting the inevitable. I heard a strange pop sound and felt a weird sensation before slowly opening my eyes again. Time had stopped around me and Yasuo as Mark and Damian high fived eachother outside of the strange time bubble.

''Phew, you had me worried there for a second kid.'' Mark said as he walked into the bubble, unphased by its effect. He walked up to Yasuo and moved away his blade from my neck before picking me up, carrying me bridal style. ''You didn't actually think I was going to let him kill you now did you?'' Mark asked as he looked down at me in his arms.

''For a second there I was.'' I said as he wiped away a bit of blood coming from my head. ''You almost gave it away though, if you kept this act up a bit longer I'm sure you wouldn't have fooled Yasuo.'' I said smiling at him while he cleaned my head wound.

''When this bubble drops I will slice you all apart, you know you can't beat me Mark, none of you can.'' Yasuo said with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

''I know, none of us can at the moment. We still need to grow as a group. That's why I had Agnes create this.'' Damian said pulling out small injection pen. ''It's a special toxin that will paralyze for a couple of hours, that's more than enough time to get you locked up somewhere where you can't harm anyone, ever again.'' He said jamming the pen into his father's unprotected arm.

As the time bubble dropped, so did Damian's father, completely unable to move his body. After losing consciousness he defused with Yasuo, showing off his human side. Damian stood towering over his father's defeated form before turning his back to him.

Mark wasn't paying attention to the beaten man anymore, his full attention was on me, he had put me down on the ground, away from Yasuo as he inspected my wounds. He carefully moved his hand over my arm that received a double shot from Flynn, making me groan a bit in pain. ''I don't think its broken, but it isn't fine either.'' He muttered to himself.

''I'm fine, I can still fight. It just needs a moment to rest.'' I lied to myself while slowly trying to stretch my arm, making me hiss in pain. ''Ok, maybe not.'' I said groaning. ''Wait what about the other guy!?'' I said remembering Flynn being thrown into the building.

''He's gone.'' Ekko said, his voice coming from Damian's armor. ''There's no traces of him or his armor anywhere, he must have used one of those portal grenades.'' He said a bit disappointed.

''Not that it matters right now. He's going to need time to recover from that blow and the same goes for Nathalie, she needs medical attention and rest aswell.'' Mark said helping me into a sitting position. ''We should regroup at the base and plan our next move.'' Mark said before putting a hand on his helmets left side, listening to the coms.

There was a moment of silence before Damian started to listen in on the conversation as well. _Dammit why did Yasuo have to destroy my headgear…_

''Agnes calm down what did you find out?'' Damian said starting to panic. ''What do you mean right now!?''

''Hold on a moment Agnes.'' Mark said taking off his helmet as he sat next to me so I could listen in aswell. ''Nath's headgear got destroyed, this way she can listen in too. Continue please.'' He said handing me his helmet.

''Like I was saying, Viktor is moving his experiment out of the city at this very moment! We need to stop him right now! We'll never get a second shot at this!'' Agnes explained again, slightly out of breath. ''I got most of the field operators into the city, they can function as a distraction for the Battlecasts, but they can't stop the convoy, it's too well protected, so our only option is to fight fire with fire of our own.''

''What kind of convoy are we talking about? Anything I need to know?'' Mark asked with a frown. ''I suppose Zed and Fiora are guarding the damn transport? That's what you meant with fighting fire with fire right?''

''Yep, all the heralds left their posts immediately after your first sighting, except for Yasuo and Lucian. They moved in on your position.'' Agnes said thinking of a strategy.

''I'll go.'' Mark said getting back up. ''I can take Roxanne on. The last time was pretty close and I just know she's still struggling with herself.'' He said stretching his legs.

''No way in hell that you're going alone!'' I yelled at him, causing a light headache in my own head. ''We move as a team, not alone.'' I tried argue.

''Nathalie, look at yourself. You're in no condition to fight, you need a doctor to take a look at you.'' Leona said a bit worried about me. ''I know we can take a hit and that we'll bounce right back but this is overdoing it a bit.''

''No… I will protect Mark, whatever the cost.'' I said hesitantly as I slowly got up, only to fall forward almost immediately. Before my body could touch the ground Mark had already caught me, supporting my nearly numb body.

''Your life isn't something I'm willing to pay for stopping Viktor. I can handle this one, honestly.'' Mark said squeezing my good arm carefully. ''I'll be back before you know it.''

''But what about Zed? Or Viktor? What if they're on the convoy aswell? What will you do when you get outnumbered?'' I asked worried about Marks safety.

''Hey, have a bit of faith in your boyfriend.'' He said slowly helping me back to the ground. ''I got it all covered, if I find this weapon he's working on, I'll shut it down and retreat'' Mark explained slowly moving a lock of hair behind my ear before moving his hand behind my head, moving my head forward a bit.

''Promise me you'll come back alive.'' I said moving a bit closer to his face, my eyes never leaving his.

''I promise I'll do anything I can to keep you safe.'' He said before making his move, kissing me. It wasn't the answer I was waiting to hear but the kiss made me forget that for just a moment too long. My mind was beginning to drift off as Mark stroked the back of my neck, sending shivers of pleasure down my spine. I gasped for air during the kiss, not wanting to break it up just yet. After a moment I couldn't hold back any longer and let out a moan of pleasure before I felt something sharp sting my leg.

''What the!?'' I pushed Mark off of me and looked down at my leg. I noticed Mark throw away another pen with medicine in it. ''What did you do to me!?'' I nearly yelled, beginning to feel dizzy.

''I'm sorry Nath, but I can't risk having you follow me into this mess. I'm so sorry but I just don't want you risking your life.'' Mark said with a hurt expression on his face.

''What. Did. You. Do.'' I said getting mad. ''What did you just inject into my body!?''

''It's a sedative, it'll numb your pain and make you fall asleep for a bit. That'll give Damian some time to get you to a hospital and get your wounds treated.'' He said getting up, still giving me a guilty look.

''When I wake up.'' I said feeling my eyes get heavy and felt a dizziness. ''I'm going to kick your ass.'' I said before closing my eyes, drifting off into a deep sleep.

* * *

''Whoa. What the hell did you do to her?'' Damian asked in disbelief.

''I drugged her obviously.'' I said picking up Nathalie's unconscious body and carried her inside the command center. ''I got some sedatives from Agnes. Just in case one of us… lost it.''

''But was this really the right idea?'' Damian asked. ''I mean I kinda understand but… dude you just straight up Bill Cosby'ed her man, not cool.'' Damian said making me laugh a bit.

''Big difference.'' I said pointing a finger at him while still snickering at his comment. I put Nathalie down on an empty table inside the building before turning to Damian. ''Ok listen. I want you to get Nathalie to a hospital. You and her both need medical attention and Agnes is busy right now.'' I ordered.

''But I can help! We took both those guys down!'' Damian started to argue.

''Yes but first of all, I need someone to protect Nathalie and second, you collapsing and dropping your time device wasn't planned. If Yasuo was on edge, that little slip up could have gotten Nathalie killed.'' I said crossing my arms.

''I know, I know. I nearly screwed up, but it worked out in the end right?'' Damian asked as I gave him a bored look. ''Got it, I'll get Nathalie to safety.'' Damian said looking pass me, over to Nathalie's beaten body. ''I know you lied to her about her being alright, how bad is it really?''

I looked at Nathalie with a worried look, her chest rose slowly and dropped a few seconds later. ''I-I'm not sure, but her arm could be broken and her ribs took quiet the hit aswell.'' I said looking at Nathalie. ''To me, your job of keeping her save is way more important than saving the city.'' I told Damian as I put my hand on his shoulder.

''Got it, I'll make sure she gets the best treatment.'' He said giving me a large smile. ''Good luck taking Zed and Fiora on, and come back in one piece you hear?''

''Take care of my angel, Damian.'' I said putting on my helmet. ''And Leona…''

''Yes, Mark?'' Her voice still came from Nathalie's armor although Nathalie was unconscious.

''If I don't make it back, make sure Nath gets to see that video I made for her… and tell her I'm sorry, for doing this to her.'' I said taking a deep breath.

''How about you come back alive and tell her yourself.'' Leona said in her standard cheery voice, with a hint of worry marking her words.

''I'll try my best, I promise.'' I said activating Highlander and running off.

* * *

''Hey, princess look alive. Yi is on his way, we lost contact with the other team about half an hour ago.'' Tobias said nudging me.

''Sorry sir it's just… I've been trying to keep the Demacian down, but she keeps slipping at times.'' I said looking down at my phone. ''How do you do it?''

''I struggle with keeping him down aswell.'' Tobias said tightening the grip on the steering wheel as he waited on a traffic light.

''Wait you struggle with your champion aswell?'' I asked confused. _When it comes to fighting Tobias always looks like he's in full control, right?_

''You two should get ready, Yi is coming this way, no need to keep him alive, I got what I needed from him.'' Viktor's voice came from the radio in the truck. ''The vehicle will keep driving to its destination. I need you two to keep him busy.''

''Yes sir. C'mon princess, follow.'' Tobias said, stepping out of the truck.

''Hey what the hell!? Get back in your car man! The light is green.'' A random person yelled as Tobias fused with Zed. A bright red light blinded the guy in the car as Tobias sliced off one of the mirrors of the car.

''What are you waiting on, Princess? Fuse with the Demacian and get ready. He's close.'' Tobias turned to me, unsheathing his blades.

I complied and fused with Fiora. I looked around the cross road as the truck behind us started driving off. _Well so much for our way out of the city._

''If you two get out of my way, I promise I'll do a good word for you in prison.'' Mark called out from the other side of the road. ''Or just walk away and safe me the trouble of fighting you two.'' He said annoyed.

''Not going to happen. I still have a job to do.'' Tobias said waiting on Marks first move.

''A shame, would have saved me sometime.'' Mark said, charging us.

Tobias casted a shadow near Mark and switched places with it, locking blades with him. I wanted to take a step forward to fight next to Tobias when Fiora spoke up '' _This is the moment you've been waiting for Chérie, show Mark you're on his side''_ Fiora's voice rang through my head.

'' _If I fail Tobias, he'll have my head… But if I don't hold myself to the plan…''_ I said mentally, still frozen on the spot.

''Are you just going to stand there or what!?'' Tobias yelled as he held Mark down before getting a elbow in the stomach, letting go with a grunt. ''Fight or else!'' He said disappearing into the shadows.

I tried to push aside my inner conflict as Mark disappeared and attacked me from where he stood, ending up next to me, ready to stab me if he had to. _If he wants to strike me down, if that proves that I'm different, then so be it…_ I readied myself for the impact of the blade, closing my eyes. What I didn't expect was Tobias pushing me to the ground and blocking the blade by reappearing in front of me.

''You disappoint me princess.'' He said pushing Mark away before grabbing him and throwing him into the nearby traffic lights. ''I thought I trained you better than that.'' He said pulling me up from the ground.

''Tobias I'm sorry, I can't do this.'' I said dropping my rapier. ''I can't bring myself to fight him.''

''So that's how it's going to be.'' Tobias said drawing his blade. ''You truly are just a waste of my time.'' He said thrusting his blade into me, drawing blood. ''Night, night princess.'' He said dissolving into shadows.

''ROXANNE! NO!'' Mark yelled rushing over, catching me before I fell. ''No, no, no not you too. I can't let this happen again…'' He said panicked.

''Don't worry, I'm going to be fine.'' I said with a grunt of pain as I got back up. ''That idiot couldn't bring himself to kill me.''

''Wha-!? Rox you're ok!? I just saw you get stabbed!'' Mark said taking a few steps backwards.

''He made me retract the blades, just far enough to not cause lethal damage…'' Tobias said reappearing from the shadows.

''What do you mean he!? Aren't you in control Tobias!?'' I asked confused as Tobias began to laugh.

''No, he hasn't been in control for quiet some time, I took over a long time ago. Me! Zed!'' Zed revealed as he laughed. ''That fool couldn't even handle half of my power, so I took over.''

''That explains his relentlessness.'' I said thinking. ''But I know he's still in there, there's a good man in there! Fighting to get out!''

''Jeez, are you sure you're not in love with him.'' Mark said looking at me. During the distraction Zed casted a shadow and jumped to it, grabbing a hold of Mark.

''You really should pay more attention.'' He said grabbing Mark by the throat, slowly walking forward, pushing Mark into the wall of a building. ''Well would you look at that, back where we started… You at my mercy, me holding you down.''

''There's just one little difference this time.'' Mark said grabbing Zed's arms around his neck.

''And what's that?'' Zed asked sarcastically.

''I got her on my side this time.'' He said as I thrusted my rapier into Zed's back, making him let go of Mark, giving Mark the chance to kick Zed off of him, catching his breath.

''Do you really think the two of you can stop me?'' Zed said grunting as he turned around with the rapier still in his back. His form towering over me, armblades drawn. ''You're lucky he likes you, if it were up to me, you'd be laying in a pool of your own blood.'' Zed said as he pulled the rapier out of his back, drawing an almost black blood from the wound.

''I know we can!'' I yelled as I dodged Zed's attack by ducking underneath it and grabbing my rapier from the ground. Zed wasn't done yet and created multiple shadow clones, while disappearing into the shadows himself. _Not as many clones as usual, he must be weakened…_

Zed reappeared from the shadows, ready to stab me again, forcing me to use Riposte, blocking his unexpected advance. After blocking the attack he laughed and disappeared again. ''Time to die.'' He said, making the clones throw their shuriken's at me. _Crap why didn't I expect this!?_

''Rox! Block the ones behind you!'' Mark yelled as he blocked one of the shuriken's as the other imbedded itself into his shoulder. With barely anytime to react I turned around and stopped both weapons thrown my way.

''Thanks…'' I said raising my blade while carefully looking over my shoulder. I saw Mark pull out the shuriken, the weapon had a bit of his blood on it as he threw it to the ground.

''Don't mention it.'' He said, raising his blade.

We stood back to back, waiting for Zed to pop up again. ''If this really is the champion Zed, we have to be on edge, he knows his limits and most likely ours aswell.'' Mark said looking around wildly.

''Like I don't know that, I've been training with the guy for weeks.'' I said annoyed.

''And you didn't learn shit.'' Zed's voice called out as we got surrounded by shadow clones. He himself walked up to us, slowly but menacingly, he made his towards us.

''He's going to cast Death Mark.'' I whispered.

''Like I couldn't tell due to the small army of shadows around us. The real question is who?'' Mark whispered, tensing up a bit.

''Can you protect yourself if he goes for you?'' I asked unsure of Mark's abilities.

''I can protect us both if I use the Overdrive, but the Death Mark will still hurt.'' Mark said sounding a bit worried.

''Great, just follow my lead.'' I whispered as Zed laughed and disappeared into the shadows, using Mark as his target. _I knew it!_

Shadows sliced him from three sides, creating the Death Mark. Zed reappeared, his blade unsheating in mid-air, ready to inflict more damage as the clones threw shuriken's at us. Mark reacted by shielding us with a protective shield, powerful enough to block the thrown shuriken's, leaving him open to Zed.

I activated Grand Challenge as four vital spots got marked all over Zed's body. Due to his greedy advance on Mark he didn't even notice them appearing. ''En Garde!'' I yelled as I charged Zed, not noticing the smile on my face.

Mark dropped the shield after blocking the clones their weapons and quickly jumped out of the way, barely dodging Zed's attack. Zed let out an annoyed grunt as his armblade imbedded itself into the ground, leaving him open for attacks. I danced around Zed using Lunge's reset on every vital I hit. It felt great finally being able to get back at him for all the beatings and humiliations. Just like one of the first nights.

 _One more vital to go and he shouldn't be able to get back up! Just this last one…_ My blade was inches away from the vital, when Zed avoided the attack by switching positions with one of the shadow clones surrounding us.

''Did you really think I was just going to let you hit that?'' Zed mocked from a distance while gripping his side.

''You forgot one thing, Zed.'' Mark said grabbing a hold of him, twisting his arms behind his back. ''She isn't alone.'' He said as Zed struggled in the lock he was being kept in. ''Now Rox! Before the Death Mark goes off!'' Mark said.

I walked up, activating Bladework to inflict even more damage and stabbed the vital lightly piercing Zed's armor, careful not to thrust to hard. _Wouldn't want to harm Tobias…_ After the fourth vital was struck, Grand Challenge' victory zone appeared, signaling my first successful use of the ability. The victory zone quickly kicked in and started to heal Mark's injuries he sustained from the Death Mark, making him let out a sigh of relief.

''You can let go of him now Markie, he isn't going to get up in a while.'' I said looking down at Zed's beaten form. Mark crouched over him and poked him a couple of times. ''What are you doing?''

''Just making sure.'' He said before jamming a pen with medicine into Zed's back. ''Don't worry, it's for his own good.'' Mark said taking off his helmet, showing his smile.

''Thank you for fighting alongside us.'' A unfamiliar voice came from Mark's armor.

''Master Yi! What a surprise!'' Fiora's voice said gleefully.

''Wait you two can talk trough the armors?'' I asked confused. ''Why did you never do that before?''

''I tried, but you kept trying to suppress me so I let it slide.'' Fiora said, her accent making it a bit difficult to understand.

''Miss Laurent what a pleasure to speak to you again.'' The voice said again. ''Your company was missed dearly.''

''Oh my. What a gentle man.'' Mark said laughing a bit. ''You two will have to catch up a different time, we still need to stop that convoy.''

''I'll help.'' I said. ''Anything to show that I'm going to change.'' I said with a guilty look on my face.

''I need you to take Zed's body and get it to my team, I'll give you the coordinates. Zed needs to be locked away so my team can try and free that Tobias guy's mind from Zed.'' Mark explained. ''I'm sorry Rox but it's the only way to stop all of them, as much as I enjoyed fighting along side you, we need to split up again.''

''I understand Markie.'' I said with a smirk. ''Good luck, whatever that means coming from me.'' I said looking away.

''I won't forget this Roxanne, I'll make sure everyone hears of this.'' Mark said before putting his helmet back on and running off, leaving only a orange streak behind.

''Sigh''

''You did good Chérie. You showed him that you're on his side, the right side of this conflict.'' Fiora said complimenting me. ''Why the long face? This is a time for celebration, no?''

''I just hope these people can help Tobias. C'mon let's get going.'' I said picking up Tobias's unconscious body from the ground.

 _I really hope they can treat you, Tobi…_

* * *

 **WOOW, hows it going peeps? Emerald back at it with a new chapter! A bit on the long side but that's the way we like it here don't we. Wow that came out wrong… Anyway moving on! Biggest chapter yet and man did it take me a lot of time to get some of these things right. I am tired af. I did most of my school stuff, just a few more projects to run through and baddabing baddaboom, I got vacation!**

 **I decided that during my vacation I'm going to take a break from PROJECT Earth and go on an actual vacation! Aaaaaand I'm going to focus on An Angel's Thief. A side project I've been working on for quiet some time now. It will debut after the next chapter of PROJECT Earth, which will wrap up season 1 completely, and set things up for season 2! WHICH WILL CONTINUE HERE! NO NEED TO UNFOLLOW!**

 **You would have known these things and way more fun stuff, like upcoming chapters, ideas and fun facts if you joined the discord. So come join us! Enter by typing in: discord dot gg /BWpaKr9**

 **Just remember to be respectful to others and don't be racist and we can all have a good time k? And I seriously mean it! There's a bunch of cool people in the discord! We got multiple authors of different stories so I'm not the only one you can ask questions! Maybe your favorite author is in here aswell? Who knows? I don't because it's your favorite author and you haven't joined the chat yet so HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW!**

 **Eghem, sorry about that.**

 **Right before I wrap up the AN I wanted to thank you peeps for all the support on the fic. The follows, favorites, comments! All of it! Just this week we reached over 3.5K views, YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING!**

 **So I'm not 100% sure if I'll be able to upload next week because of school… (Just like last week) But I'll try my best. The next chapter might be a bit smaller but who knows? Maybe I'm just bad at calculating these things.**

 **That's wraps up this chapter of PROJECT Earth! Thank you all so much for reading!**

 **I'll see you peeps in the next chapter!**

 **Until then,**

 **Emerald Out!**


	22. Chapter 22

PROJECT: Earth

Chapter 22: No sacrifice, no victory (Season 1 finale part 3)

'' _Mark, you need to slow down. You took quite the hit, fighting Zed, not to mention you're burning through your energy way to quick.''_ Yi said mentally as I neared the coordinates of the convoy.

'' _That can't stop us right now Yi, we're almost done. After destroying whatever Viktor is transporting I'll take a break.''_ I replied, ignoring the exhaustion and pain. _''Yi aren't you curious what Viktor's transporting?''_

'' _Not really, I'm more eager to destroy whatever's in that truck.''_ Yi said with a hint of urgency in his voice. _''Anything Viktor creates is bad news. This can't be much better…''_

'' _Got it, focus on the task at hand and don't get sidetracked.''_ I replied earning a chuckle from Yi. _''What's so funny?''_

'' _It seems to be your specialty when it comes to important things.''_ Yi explained with glee.

'' _What are you talking about?''_ I asked confused.

'' _You seem to get distracted a lot, when we're on mission.''_ Yi said chuckling to himself. _''It's not a bad thing, it shows that you got an eye for detail.''_ Yi turned said complimenting me.

'' _Sure it does...''_ I said joining in on the laughing.

''Mark! There it is!'' Yi spoke up in excitement, instead of mentally communicating with me.

We closed in on the convoy truck. The giant black truck drove away slowly as I got a better look at it. I was actually expecting more of a normal kind of truck but this thing was next level. It was more like a mobile home, a completely black, six wheeled driving house.

''If Tobias and Roxanne were driving that thing, then who's driving it now?'' I asked confused. ''I mean someone surely has to control the truck right?''

''Actually it has automated controls.'' Yi said a bit distracted. ''I can try to override the controls and make it stop.'' Yi exclaimed. ''I just need you to get me closer, I'll do the rest.''

''Got it. You show that thing who's boss.'' I said speeding up a bit, running next to the truck. ''Do I need to get you closer or what?'' I asked panting a bit. ''Cause I don't know how long I can keep this up.''

''I told you, you should have rested before continuing.'' Yi said before his voice disappeared from the armor.

''So much for a conversation…'' I said ironically.

''I heard that.'' Yi said as he returned to the armor. ''I can't get it to stop. Well I could but that would take too long, the protection on the auto pilot is too much, Viktor is prepared...''

''So… what now?'' I asked unsure.

''Do what you do best.'' Yi said with a hint of excitement.

''Get sidetracked?'' I said, the sarcasm dripping from my words. ''Yeah, yeah I know bad moment for sarcasm.'' I quickly added before Yi could let out a sigh.

I sped up a bit more so I could get in front of the truck without being crushed by it. _I suppose jamming my blade into the front could work._ So I did just that. I turned around with a jump and threw my blade into the front of the truck, sending the blade's fully extended form almost through the truck.

I quickly got out of the way as the truck slowly came to a hold. ''Well would you look at that, I don't know anything about cars, but that seemed to work.'' I exclaimed as the truck came to a hold in the middle of the city.

''Lucky us.'' Yi said snickering a bit.

''Save the sarcasm for another time.'' I said, pulling my blade out of the front of the truck with a bit of effort before walking up to the back of the vehicle. ''I'm just dying to find out what this armored thing is transporting.'' I said as I opened the back of the truck.

As I flung open the doors, the dark insides of the truck were lit up by a red light. Before I could react I was blasted by some sort of canon, the blast sending me flying into the car behind the truck.

''Good to know you're just dying to find out.'' Viktor said walking out of the back, using his cane for support. ''Now, how about you stay dead for a change.''

''Should have seen that one coming…'' I groaned as I tried to get up from the destroyed car's windshield.

''I will give you a choice.'' Viktor said as his third hand began charging up for a Death Ray. ''Leave this city or die for it.'' He said slowly making his way towards me. ''Die a hero or live as a coward.''

''I'd rather die than to let you continue your wretched plans.'' I said with venom marking my words, earning me a Death Ray across the chest making me scream in pain.

''Die a hero? Not that I expected anything else from the city's so called defender.'' Viktor said throwing his siphon at me, making the gem in his cane glow bright purple.

'' _Mark start moving!''_ Yi yelled mentally as I rolled off the car, barely dodging the powered up beam coming from Viktor's cane.

''So what now? We're just going to fight till one of us drops?'' I asked Viktor as I struggled to get back on my feet. _''Bad idea… Mark keep him busy, I have a plan.''_ Yi said mentally as I was busy distracting Viktor.

''We both know you're going to be the one ending up dead.'' Viktor said as he readied his Death Ray again. ''And afterwards I will take that fancy suit of armor from you.'' Viktor said firing another Death Ray.

I barely sidestepped the laser aimed at me, and ran up to Viktor. With a laugh Viktor threw down a Gravity Field, slowing me down in the process only to throw another Syphon, making his cane glow again. ''You truly are a fool.'' Viktor mocked as he walked up to me. ''Thinking that rushing in without a strategy will get you anywhere.''

I laughed at his comment. ''What's so funny?'' Viktor asked, stopping in his tracks and raising his cane aimed towards me. The purple glow of the gem, radiating magical energy.

''This was all part of the plan.'' I said using Alpha Strike to escape the Gravity Field, catching Viktor by surprise. I ended up behind Viktor, slicing off his third arm. Viktor responded by slamming his cane into me, unleashing the stored power and throwing me back. He screamed in pain grasping his shoulder. ''That's what you get when you connect your nerve-system to a mechanical arm.'' I said looking at Viktor.

''Outsmarted by a child…'' Viktor said, anger boiling in his voice. ''No, this isn't over. I can still… Yesssss. My newest creation.'' He said, sinisterly looking my way.

''What's this? The great and powerful Machine Herald showing emotions? A human aspect he sees as weakness?'' I said mocking him as I slowly got up, weakly drawing my blade. I noticed Viktor ignoring me.

''Let's see how you like this…'' Viktor said aiming the gem in his cane towards the truck. Out of the truck flew a small cyclops drone, hovering above Viktor's cane. ''Behold! True power!'' Viktor yelled as the drone flew up into the air, far above the buildings of the city, creating a city wide Chaos Storm as the skies turned red and a huge black cloud formed around the buildings around us.

Random bolts of red thunder struck wildly into anything caught in the storm, including me and Viktor. I dropped to my knees in pain as my armor started singeing lightly and gave off overload warnings. My vision blurred as I noticed the armor's HUD being scrambled by the energy of the storm.

As the storm raged on I noticed I wasn't the only one who was being affected by the storm, Yi seemed to be taking damage aswell. I could hear him cry out in pain aswell and almost feel his pain. _The armor is still connected to him, so this must be hell for him too…_

Through the pain I managed enough strength to look around me, noticing the absolute destruction the storm was causing. Lightning bolts where impacting at random hitting anyone who was caught in the storm. Viktor seemed unaffected by the storm while he was looking on in surprise, trying to recall the small drone which clearly was malfunctioning.

''VIKTOR! Stop this! It's me you want! Not the people or the city!'' I yelled through the raging storm. ''You want to rule them? Fine! Spare them! Take my life instead!'' Viktor looked up from his trance not even surprised by my comment. He lowered his staff, making the drone hover lower to the ground. By doing so the storm stopped spreading across the city but started to rage down in the streets, causing even more destruction around us.

Viktor looked on as he didn't see another option but the hit his creation with a blast from the gem in his cane, blowing off one of its stabilizers. Within seconds, the storm began to die down and Viktor began to regain control over his creation.

After regaining control of the small cyclops, Viktor made it hover between us before opening a portal and making the drone fly through said portal, stopping it from generating the Chaos Storm. I let out a sigh of relief as the red thunder disappeared from the clouds above the city as only the darkened skies remained.

The streets around us were completely destroyed, the glass of surrounding buildings was shattered, the ground below the buildings had black spots in it and cars where either destroyed or on fire due to the random lightning strikes from the Chaos Storm.

''You are lucky that I wish to help these people _evolve_ and not kill them.'' Viktor said sinisterly before walking over to me. I looked up at his face as he grabbed a hold of me and dragged me towards the portal before throwing me through it.

I fell into another world, hitting a red rock floor, hard. I looked up in wonder as I saw a plain world only consisting of a red almost volcanic rock. The skies clouded by the same storm that clouded the city a moment ago. _What is this stuff? It's almost like I'm standing inside a volcano… and the skies… Almost like its being affected by a permanent Chaos Storm._

''Yi? Are you ok?'' I asked standing up slowly, I could feel the lingering effect of the Chaos Storm in my body, leaving me vulnerable to attacks. ''Yi!? C'mon this isn't a time for jokes…'' I said slightly panicking.

''He can't help you.'' Viktor said blasting me with the magic gem in his cane, knocking me back to the ground. ''He isn't going to help you this time. The Chaos Storm has a lingering effect on both of you.''

''Where are we?'' I asked Viktor. (I wasn't really expecting a reply from the guy trying to kill me but then again, I can try can I not?)

I lay on my back, looking up at the sky in pain as I heard Viktor's footsteps get closer. ''Welcome to my personal testing grounds.'' Viktor said holding his hands up in the air, proudly showing off his very own world. ''It is a pocket dimension, I created back on Runeterra. One of my greatest creations, next to my Glorious Evolution ofcourse.'' He said inspecting the gem in his cane.

 _I need to find a way to get out of this mess… but if there's no other way, I'll have to trap him here with me… A sacrifice to keep him locked in with me…_

''Are you getting back up?'' Viktor asked confused as I used my sword to support myself. ''You really are an interesting person, you would have made a great test subject for my Glorious Evolution but alas you've been in my way for too long.'' Viktor said looking up at the red and black skies. ''I kept my end of the bargain… Now it's your turn.''

* * *

I woke up to a horrible itch on my nose. As I tried to scratch my nose, I noticed that my arm felt way heavier than ever before. I opened my eyes only to find out that my arm was in a cast. ''Ah hell, really?'' I asked annoyed as I tried getting up from the hospital bed, only to be stopped by a horrible pain in my chest.

''Oh no, no, no, no.'' I said out of panic as I threw off the sheets of the bed, only to find out that I was no longer wearing my armor, nor my own clothes but a hospital gown. ''Right my fight with Flynn and Lucian…'' I said throwing my feet out of the bed and taking a seat on the edge of the bed.

I got spooked by a loud lightning strike near my window and quickly turned around. ''What the…'' I saw a huge black and red storm cloud hover over the city. _That doesn't look natural at all… Wait… MARK!_ I quickly stood up from my bed, holding my casted arm close to my ribs and my good hand on the drip that led into said arm. _Probably painkillers…_

Carefully, I opened the door of my hospital room and walked out. I looked around and noticed a sleeping Damian sitting next to my room, fully clothed in his armor, covered in bandages, his baton planted next to the chair he fell asleep in. _Poor Damian having to fight his dad must have drained him from his energy and even after all that he's still looking after me… I'm better off letting him sleep for now._

Slowly but steadily I stumbled through the hall until I reached the information desk at the beginning, being stopped by a nurse sitting at the desk. ''Ma'am where are you going? Can I help you?'' She said hurrying after me.

''I'm just going to take a look outside, nothing special.'' I said brushing off the nurse's concern.

''Uhm, wait aren't you the girl with the broken arm, bruised ribs and the concussion?'' She asked thinking for a moment.

''You tell me. I just woke up, what happened?'' I asked the nurse.

''Well… that young man rushed you in here.'' The nurse said pointing at Damian. ''He said something about stopping that dictator, Viktor.'' She said frowning. ''Anyway it's our duty to help you, we had to perform surgery on your arm which is going to be fine, no need to worry.''

''And my ribs? You mentioned bruised ribs? That just takes time right? No need for more surgery if I remember correctly.'' I said trying to recall the lessons Mark and I had.

''Correct, just make sure you use clean bandages every few days, and apply enough pressure.'' The nurse said trailing off. During the nurse's story, I sneakily pressed the button on the elevator and walked in before closing the door. ''Hey! Come back here! The boy said not to let you leave!''

''Pfff, as if I wasn't going to try and walk off.'' I said pressing the button to close the door of the elevator before leaning against the elevator wall, catching my breath. ''Ugh, if only Leona was here she'd be able to tell me what's going on.''

''That could be arranged.'' Damian said as the door of the elevator opened. ''C'mon don't give the nurses such a hard job.'' He said handing me my phone.

''Nath! I'm so glad you're ok!'' Leona said with her standard cheery voice.

''Heh, I knew you'd catch up.'' I said taking my phone and walking pass Damian, clearly confusing him. ''Did you see what's going on in the city? The strange storm above the city? Any of it?'' I kept on walking towards the exit as Damian followed.

''Hey, hey, hey, slow down, where are you going? Come back here! Nath! C'mon!'' He said blocking my way to the exit. ''What do you mean with a strange storm?'' Damian asked as I tried pushing him aside.

''Walk with me, Damian.'' I said motioning him to let me through. ''There's something you need to see and maybe you can tell me what's going on.'' I said slowly walking through the automatic doors.

''Whoa…'' Damian said looking up into the sky. ''That looks like something Viktor would summon.'' He said in awe as red thunder zapped through the sky.

''I'm pretty sure that's what Viktor was transporting.'' Ekko said disappointed. ''It seems like Mark couldn't stop it…'' Ekko's comment made some horrible images appear in my head, sending chills down my spine.

''Hey look! The storm is dissolving!'' Leona said, making me and Damian look up. The clouds began to shrink and hover lower into the middle of the city, leaving only dark skies. ''Well, seems like you were wrong Ekko.''

''Yup, seems like I'm wrong. Mark clearly has this covered.'' Ekko said apologizing, primarily to me. ''I can't be right every time. You guys deserve a chance too.'' Ekko said cockily. _Yup those two are nearly identical…_

''It doesn't seem like the storm is completely dissolved though.'' I said, pointing towards the middle of the city. ''It seems like this isn't over yet.''

''Oh no. I recognize that look on your face. You're not going near that storm.'' Damian said standing in front of me. ''I can't let you endanger your life, Mark told me to.'' He said with a serious face. ''He made me promise.''

''I know, I'm not the one who's gonna walk in there, you are. I just need you to get me a laptop.'' I said smiling at him.

''Should have seen that one coming…'' Damian said walking back inside of the hospital with me on his tail.

* * *

I groaned as I slowly crawled back up from my most recent hit from Viktor's cane. Viktor walked up to me again, readying his cane so smack me across the jaw again. ''What is it boy? No more clever comments to make?'' He asked slamming his cane into my face, breaking the armor's helmet.

''It's not like I have a choice.'' I said panting while throwing the broken helmet to the ground. ''It's either me or the city…'' I said using my sword for support. ''That's a sacrifice I'm willing to make.''

''After I'm done with you, all will kneel before me as glorious evolved.'' Viktor said slamming his cane into me, over and over again, knocking me away a few inches. ''Now boy, would you like to know what I'm going to do after I help this world evolve?'' Viktor said resting his weight on his cane.

''Sure… why not? I'm not leaving… this place anyway.'' I said trying to regain control of my breathing.

''I'm going to find your family, the family you've build up in the past few months and have them slaughtered by my evolved. One by one, starting at the bottom, slowly working my way up towards your lover, ending her miserable life.'' Viktor said as the glow in his eyes shined an ominous orange.

''Not if I have something… to say about it.'' I said crawling back to my feet as black spots began clouding my vision for a moment. _Not yet, I still need to do one more thing… Please one more thing before collapsing…_

''Oh, what's this? Still a bit of a fight left in you? Or did I trigger a nerve?'' Viktor said throwing a siphon into me with full force, making me fall backwards, dropping my blade. ''I suppose I was wrong…'' Viktor said towering over me, the gem on his cane glowing bright. ''You can't even stand up straight, let alone fight back.''

As Viktor readied to deliver the final blow, I found my sword and slashed forward, hitting the gem in his cane. The gem's stored power created an (H)explosion. The power behind the blast sending us both flying in opposite directions. I landed flat on my stomach with a loud thud. I looked up with a week grin on my face.

''Ha… Ha… Hahahaha!'' Viktor started laughing uncontrollably as he got back up and grabbed the remains of the shattered gem. while holding the remains, he looked over at me. ''You fool! You doomed yourself! That was your only way out!'' He said walking up to my broken body.

''Nothing… better than… locking you with me… where you can't harm anyone else…'' I said before being picked up by the collar of my armor. ''So… how are we going to spend an eternity together…'' I said giving Viktor a cocky smile right into his glowing eyes.

''Did you really thing that I wouldn't plan for this?'' Viktor said pulling out a portal grenade and throwing it behind him. ''I fear that you will have to enjoy eternity all by yourself, truly a shame that I couldn't take that armor with me…'' Viktor said slamming his fist into my stomach before throwing me across the ground. ''But choices have to be made, I suppose.''

''No! No! Not like this!'' I yelled as I saw Viktor walk through the portal. ''No… it can't… end like this.'' I said, weakly raising my hand at the closing portal. ''I… can't…'' I said panicked, rolling onto my side in pain. ''I can't… keep going…'' I felt tears of frustration and exhaustion in my eyes before thinking about what Viktor said.

''Nathalie… Emily… Everyone…'' I said feeling tears run down my face. ''I failed again… I couldn't save you guys…'' I muttered before passing out due to exhaustion and pain.

* * *

''Pfff, why do you interdimensional travelers have to be so heavy. Every damn time it's 'Hey boss we got another one, would you mind getting this one out?''' A female voice said annoyed. ''Seriously I do time travel not interdimensional travel but ofcourse the guy's at interdimensional didn't have anyone available, UGH.''

The loud talking woke me up. With a terrible headache I looked around and noticed I was still inside Viktor's pocket dimension. ''What's going on? Yi?'' I asked, trying to look around before realizing I wasn't able to do anything.

''Master Yi? The Wuju Blademaster? I wouldn't take you for someone from that universe…'' The voice said before stopping to drag me along to wherever I was going. ''But now that you're up we can talk, you seem to have gotten quite the beating so I suppose you didn't come here out of free will.'' The voice began. I began to slowly wake up again.

''Wait, who are you? What are you going to do with me?'' I asked trying to get a glimpse of the woman dragging me along.

''You're not authorized to request such information. All you need to know is that I'm going to get you out of this dimension. It's my job to keep timelines and dimensions in check after all.'' The voice said as it stopped dragging me along. ''Now hold still, I'm just going to check where you're from.'' The voice said.

I felt something poke my neck, I could feel it stinging in my neck. ''Hmm, normally people cry out in pain when I do that…'' The voice said thinking for a moment.

''I probably didn't notice because I'm in a lot of pain already.'' I said chuckling. ''You mentioned you keep timelines in check…''

''Yes, so?'' The voice asked.

''There's things going on in my universe that aren't supposed to happen. Maybe you could look into it if it isn't too much trouble?'' I asked, trying to move my numb body.

''Noted. Ok… This should be your universe.'' The voice said. ''This might feel a bit weird, but afterwards you'll be back in your own universe where you can do whatever you do back on your 'Earth'.'' The voice explained. ''Huh, Earth… Weird name for a planet, might aswell call it 'Dirt'.'' The voice said chuckling.

''Wait what do you mean with 'my universe'?'' I asked, while being lifted off the ground and being held in front of a blue portal being held open by strange white pillars. ''Wait! What are you planning on doing with me!?'' I yelled weakly.

''I'm putting you back where you belong.'' The voice explained. ''Don't worry I'm just going to throw you through this portal back to your home world and I'll make sure the guys at interdimensional take a look at your universe to see if there's strange things going on.'' The voice reassured.

''Thank you… WAIT WHAT!?'' I yelled before being thrown through, yet another portal.

The blue light of the portal blinded me for a moment. I closed my eyes, hoping that would shielding my eyes from the blinding blue light. I let out a gasp as my back hit the ground, as I opened my eyes I noticed I was back in the destroyed part of the city. I let out a sigh of relief and took a look around. ''The truck seems to be gone, and so does Viktor…'' I muttered to myself. ''Dammit I couldn't stop him.'' I said balling my fist in anger.

''He's stronger than we expected, we just underestimated the situation, that's all.'' Yi's voice said weakly. ''But you did great.'' Yi said groaning a bit.

''Yi! You're back!'' I said overwelmed with happiness. ''I was worried that I'd never hear your voice again!''

''It's going to take more than just a Chaos Storm to kill me… or you apparently.'' Yi said chuckling. ''So what's the plan now?''

''Well I can't move my body right now, so how about we just talk until someone comes along?'' I said looking up at the black clouds above my face, feeling a light drizzle falling from said clouds. ''Ah, just what I needed. A bit of rain.'' I said enjoying the feeling of the rain pouring onto my face. ''Wait, Yi do you know who that voice was back in the pocket dimension?'' I asked curios.

''I have no idea what you're talking about. I just woke up after the Chaos Storm…'' Yi said thinking. ''How much did I miss?'' He asked curious.

''Heh, Yi you have no idea, you have no idea my friend.'' I said weakly before closing my eyes.

''Mark? MARK!?'' I heard Yi yell before losing conciousness.

* * *

''Mark! Are you here?'' I yelled walking through the rain. ''Nath there's no sign of him here either. I-I think he's gone.''

''No! You just have to move closer to where the storm began.'' Nathalie said beginning to sound desperate. ''I-I mean… Please look just a bit longer. I just know he's around here somewhere.'' She said taking a deep breath.

''Yeah! Come on Damian! Mark's your friend too!'' Leona said a bit of sadness in her voice. ''If we could we'd be there looking aswell!'' She said joining Nathalie's side of the argument.

''Guys calm down, we're trying our best.'' Ekko said defending me. ''We're going to take a closer look around.''

I walked through the rain, looking around the destroyed cars. Sometimes a bit of rubble would fall down from a building or some glass shards fell from a building, catching me off guard. ''Damian, chill.'' Ekko said laughing at my distress.

''Dude I have the feeling that one of these buildings is going to collapse at any moment.'' I said walking pass another set of destroyed cars. ''This must have been Viktor's doing.'' I said looking around worried about Mark.

''Holy crap look at that!'' Ekko said. I looked at a car with its windshield completely crushed. ''It looks like someone was thrown into this car.'' I took a closer look at the car, it was clear that someone or something hit it with a lot of force.

I neared the spot where the storm hit the hardest. The streets where covered in black marks from the impact of the lightning and wrecked cars were on fire. I walked through small shards of glass, crushing them underneath my boots. ''Shhh. Do you hear that? Stop moving for a second.'' Ekko said, stopping me in my tracks.

''Hear what?'' I said looking around.

''Sh, sh, sh. Shut up for a second, both of you.'' Nathalie said said with a hurried tone in her voice.

''Anyone? Hello? I can hear your voices!'' A familiar voice called out. ''Please my friend needs help!''

I vaulted over a destroyed car and ran towards the source of the voice. ''Hurry!'' Leona and Nathalie both yelled.

''Mark!? Yi!? Where are you guys?'' Ekko yelled as we neared the source of the voice. ''Damian! Over there!''

I dropped down near a body in the middle of the street. It was Mark's unconscious body. His armor was charred, black burn marks across his legs and arms, blood running down his nose and mouth, black lines from Viktor's Death Ray across his body and his helmet was nowhere to be found.

I felt sick looking at Mark's body, disgusted by what Viktor did to him. Over the coms I could hear Nathalie's breathing hitch. ''Nath… He's still breathing… He's alive!'' I said carefully putting two fingers in his neck, feeling for a pulse.

''Damian there's a ambulance on its way! I need you to stay with Mark…'' Ekko said calmly. ''Make sure he's going to be ok.'' I'll walk you through the checks, just take it easy.'' Ekko said trying to calm me down.

 _Hold on Mark… We're gonna get you out of here…_

* * *

''H- -up! Nath- he's wa- -p!'' I heard parts of a conversation. I opened my eyes slowly, giving them a moment to adjust to the light. Everything looked a bit woozy before my eyes adjusted. I felt a smile make its way across my face as I saw my family around me. Everyone was sitting around my bedside.

''Mark! You're up!'' Emily yelled with a large smile on her face. ''I thought you'd never wake up!'' She said wanting to jump me out of happiness.

''Sweetie I'm so proud of you!'' My mom said holding Emily back while wiping away a tear.

''You did an amazing job, Mark. You all did.'' Agnes said looking around the room, complimenting everyone with her signature smile.

''Look who finally decided to wake up.'' Damian said smiling. standing next to Agnes.

I felt a bit overwhelmed by all the talking around me. Before I could ask where Nathalie was I felt a figure wrap itself around me, nearly jumping into the bed with me. ''Nath… You're crushing me…'' I said stroking her hair.

''I was so worried about you when they brought you in.'' She said silently crying on my shoulder. ''I thought you were going to die.'' She sobbed lightly.

''Hey now… Remember what I said back in the gardens those months ago?'' I asked, making her look up with puffy eyes. ''It's going to take more than that to kill me.'' I said smiling at Nathalie, who in response started to cry tears of joy, with a smile on her face.

''You goofball, I will never, ever! Let you go off on your own again!'' She said calming down a bit. ''I'm so proud of you… stopping Viktor all by yourself after fighting almost all day.''

''Hey it was a team effort!'' Damian said jokingly, earning hearty laughter from everyone.

''Guys… I didn't stop Viktor… He got away.'' I said ashamed. ''He beat me, he would have won if it wasn't for some strange thing pulling me out of my prison.'' I said looking out the window.

''Well, that might be true but Viktor retreated. He's gone, just like the remaining Battlecasts. Hidden somewhere in the world.'' Agnes said. ''He left without leaving a trace, but with the data Damian extracted we got a general idea.'' She said messing with his hair.

''So… We did it?'' I asked confused. ''We saved the city?'' I said as a smile formed on my face.

''Indeed we did, all of us.'' Yi said calmly, scaring my mother.

''I'm never going to get used to that.'' My mother said putting a hand on her chest. Making all of us laugh.

''Don't worry you'll get used to this old man, randomly speaking up at times.'' Ekko said making my mother turn around in confusion.

''Another one!?'' She asked shocked.

''And another one!'' Leona yelled laughing.

''Seems like you're getting used to it already, mom.'' Emily said smiling.

''I still need to process all of this craziness.'' My mom said. ''C'mon Emily let's give Mark and Nathalie some time to rest and catch up, they'll need it.'' My mom said winking at me, bringing a crimson blush to my face.

''Same goes for us, let's see how your sister is doing Damian.'' Agnes said putting a hand on Damian's back, motioning towards the door.

''But I want to know what happened!'' Damian said protesting.

''Me too! I haven't seen Mark in weeks! Please mom!'' Emily said starting to protest too, making Me and Nathalie laugh.

''How about you two come back tomorrow, visiting hours are almost over.'' Nathalie suggested. ''I'm sure you two can meet up somewhere and visit us afterwards.'' She said with a smile while getting out of my bed.

''Awww, but I need answers nowwww…'' Emily said letting her arms hang. ''And I don't think it's a good idea to let you two alone in a room.'' Emily added with a devilish grin.

''Get out! You little gremlin!'' I yelled, making her giggle.

As the door closed I felt my neck which was protected by a cast. ''Ugh, did the doctors even give me painkillers? I feel like crap.'' I said rubbing my tired eyes.

''They did, but you've got a serious concussion, way worse than mine and don't get me started on your other injuries, pretty serious trauma but with enough rest and the healing effect from being linked with a champion, you'll walk out of here within a week.'' Nathalie said jumping into the bed next to mine.

''Shouldn't you get leaving too? I mean you just said visiting hour's going to be over soon.'' I said giving her a questionable look. ''Not that I mind ofcourse.''

''Nope I ain't going nowhere. This is my room aswell.'' Nathalie said picking up her phone from the nightstand before taking a seat in my bed again, resting her head on my chest. ''I requested for you to be placed here.'' Nathalie said smiling.

''Wow, nice.'' I said putting my head against my pillow, letting out a sigh.

''What's wrong, baby? Is something bothering you?'' Nathalie asked, getting comfortable in my bed.

''I just wonder what happened to Viktor and the herald that escaped…'' I said, stroking Nathalie's hair. ''Viktor is still out there, planning his next move and we need to be ready to face him again.'' I said as Nathalie listened to my worries.

''Hush, you need to rest. Give your injuries time to heal.'' Nathalie said hugging me with her good arm. ''How about we get some sleep and talk some more tomorrow.'' She suggested giving me a kiss.

''Hmmm…'' I groaned thinking.

''What was that?'' Nathalie asked, sleepiness already taking over.

''We need a vacation.'' I said before falling asleep.

* * *

''I'm the only one here?'' Flynn asked walking into the giant castle.

''Indeed you are.'' Viktor said sitting on a throne in the middle of the giant hall.

''Wow, that's kinda pathetic.'' Flynn said toying with a handgun. ''I mean even your best herald didn't make it back? Ponytail should have had that, with or without me.''

''You're getting off track here, Flynn.'' Viktor said impatiently, his eyes flaring an angry orange.

''What are you talking about? My orders where to be back here after pulling out of the city.'' He said putting his gun away. ''It's hard for me to travel across the globe, I'm a wanted assassin remember?'' Flynn said annoyed.

''Spare me your excuses, you're late, accept it.'' Viktor said walking up to the assassin. ''Please tell me, you atleast got what I asked for.'' Viktor said displeased.

''Yup, snagged it off of her when I got her down on the ground.'' Flynn said pulling out multiple vials. ''One with blood and one with a few hairs. Just like you ordered.'' He said handing the vials to Viktor. ''Now boss man, about my payment…''

''Don't you worry about payment, I will make sure that your crew gets broken out of prison in exchange for your continued services.'' Viktor said walking away with the vials.

''So… What now?'' Flynn asked.

''Make yourself at home, I will have a new assignment for you within three weeks.'' Viktor said walking up a staircase. ''You can seek me inside my personal laboratory. I still have tests to run before I start phase two.''

''What kind of job we talking? Recon? Assassination? Theft?'' Flynn asked following Viktor.

''I need you to fetch me something, but that can wait for now.'' Viktor said closing the door behind him.

''Huh? What a nutjob.'' Flynn said scratching behind his head.

* * *

 **(AN: Quick heads-up! This is pure filler! There is no epic Battlecast vs. PROJECT fights! This is pure filler, going in depth on Mark and Nathalie's vacation and some more romance development and experimental writing from my part! Don't let that stop you from reading it tho! Enjoy!)**

PROJECT Earth

Chapter 22.5: Epilogue

 _~ One month after taking back the city. ~_

''Mark wake up! We overslept!'' Nathalie said shaking me in panic. ''Oh jeez, oh jeez how could we oversleep today! Of all days! Why now?''

''Well, I can give you two reasons, right off the bat.'' I said groaning a bit as I stretched my legs.

''And those are?'' Nathalie asked while quickly grabbing clothes from the closet and putting them on the bed. ''Well? Chop-chop I don't have all day!''

''Yeah, yeah. One. We've been busy training Damian almost twenty-four seven, and two. We haven't spent a night like that together since Austria.'' I explained grinning.

''You're such a perv.'' Nathalie said walking into the bathroom. ''And we don't have time for your jokes! Hurry up and do something! I'm going to take a shower.''

''You know we could probably save time if we showered together.'' I said knocking on the bathroom door, hoping Nathalie would unlock it and let me in.

''In your dreams. We both know that it would most likely triple our time lost if we showered together and you know it!'' Nathalie said laughing. ''Now hurry up and either get the suitcase ready or go eat some breakfast.'' Nathalie ordered.

''Aye, aye cap.'' I said ironically before walking back into the bedroom and throwing our suitcase onto the bed. ''Nath I'm just going to put my stuff next to the suitcase, would you mind packing it all after you pick your stuff?'' I asked while closing the closet with my foot as I held a stack of clothing.

''No problem, but you'll have to drag that thing into the car, once Agnes comes to pick us up!'' Nathalie said as I heard the shower running.

I walked into the kitchen and turned on the TV quickly taking a glance at the news, while making a fresh pot of coffee.

''In other news, the rebuilding of our beautiful city is still taking place after the destruction the Machine Herald, Viktor caused during his fight with Master Yi the protector of the city as people are starting to call him.'' One of the newscasters read. ''Our correspondent had an interview with our mayor who had this to say.''

''Thank you for all you have done for our city, you and your allies have made sure that the city's crime rates have dropped exponentially! Whoever you three are… I'm sure I speak for most of the city as I say 'Thank you for everything'.'' The news broadcast was interrupted by some chattering coming from Mine and Nathalie's phone.

''Well would you look at that! He thanked us! The champions.'' Leona said, cheerful as ever.

''Indeed he did, not to mention that the caster thanked me…'' Yi said proudly. ''It looks like the city has welcomed us as its defenders.''

''I know right! It's great!'' Leona said cheery as Nathalie walked into the kitchen fixing her bra. _Damnit missed the best part…_

''Mark, your turn to shower, I'll get the suitcase ready-'' Nathalie stopped talking as she looked at the news showing recent arrests of CORE employees. Before letting out a sigh and continuing pouring a cup of coffee.

''Hey, you ok? I know you're worried about your dad but I'm sure he's fine.'' I said putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. ''He didn't have a choice but to work for Viktor, just like all the other employees.''

''I know it's just that I can't help but worry.'' Nathalie said, continuing getting dressed. ''Now go shower, we got about ten minutes before Agnes shows up!'' Nathalie said pushing me out of the kitchen.

After a (really) quick shower, I took the suitcase and put it near the door before doing a quick inspection if we had everything. ''Nath are you sure you don't need your brace?'' I asked as she put on a pair of sneakers.

''No, I told you a million times I don't need that damn thing! Only when my arm cramps up.'' Nathalie said walking out the door. ''Now hurry up and let's get going, Agnes is waiting on us!'' She said showing me a message on her phone before walking down the stairs of the apartment.

''You should take that with you.'' Leona said. ''She might not show or tell it but her arm cramps up at times. She'll be grateful for it, I'm sure.'' Leona added.

''I wasn't planning on leaving it here anyway. I'm taking mine aswell, so she's got nothing to be ashamed of.'' I said laughing before putting the suitcase into the elevator.

* * *

''Ok gang, we got about an hour left before our flight leaves. You all know what that means…'' Agnes said excited.

''We can finally take it easy and maybe nap a bit?'' Damian asked with a yawn.

''Nope! Shopping!'' Agnes said before walking off with Nathalie and my mother.

''So… You two are just going to stick around here or…'' I asked Emily and Damian awkwardly rubbing the back of my head.

''And hang out with you? Hell no!'' Emily said taking Damian by the hand. ''C'mon we're gonna look around aswell. Maybe get something to drink.''

I chuckled at poor Damian who was being dragged along by my sister, desperately trying to break loose from her grip. ''Ah, young love. Even sweeter than your love for Nathalie.'' Yi suddenly spoke up, catching me off guard with his comment.

''Whaaaa? Those two? In love with eachother? I don't think so.'' I said walking pass a couple of gift shops. ''I mean did you see the look on his face? Pure terror.''

''Damian is a good actor, Mark. They both are actually. Both are trying to avoid you finding out about them.'' Yi said.

''And why would they do that? I'm not against any of it.'' I asked confused. ''I mean it's not like I'm… wait a minute…''

''He's trying to prevent bad things from happening while 'on the job' so to speak.'' Yi explained. ''Don't forget you are the only man in the family now that Edward passed away.'' Yi said with a hint of sadness in his voice.

''I get it…'' I said letting out a sigh. ''He has nothing to fear though, if he wants to date my sister there's nothing wrong with that.'' I said, taking a seat on a bench near a jewelry store where the group of ladies (who walked off without me.) stood looking at different accessories, while gleefully talking to eachother.

''Oh Nathalie that ring is beautiful!'' I heard my mom say. ''Wait let me take a closer look.'' She said, carefully taking a closer look at the ring on Nathalie's finger.

I saw her whisper something into Nathalie's ear, making her face take on the most crimson tint I've ever seen. Nathalie quickly took off the ring and handed it back to the man behind the desk, earning hearty laughter from my mom and Agnes. _I wonder what happened… Meh…_ I let my thoughts race for a moment and closed my eyes.

'' _Mark, wake up. You're going to miss your flight if you keep on sleeping.''_ Yi said mentally, instantly waking me up from my nap.

''What did I tell you about doing that?'' I asked annoyed, getting up from the bench.

''You told me to never do it again, but I think you prefer not missing your flight.'' Yi said sarcastically.

''Point taken, how much time do we have left?'' I asked, taking a quick peek if the entourage of woman was still checking out the jewelry which they weren't anymore.

''About fifteen minutes, so you'll make it in time, no need to worry.'' Yi said calmly.

''Good, cause I wanted to check something out.'' I said.

After five minutes, I walked pass a small coffee place, interested I took a look inside, the small café looked interesting. The store was decorated nicely with expensive furniture which gave it a real comfy feeling, like an 'away from home, but still home' feeling. I looked at the sign above the store. _'Bungalow Coffee, huh? Lives up to its name._ I also noticed two teens in the corner of the café enjoying eachother company, chatting and laughing together.

The scene before me made me smile as I tapped on the window carefully, interrupting the two, both looking at me completely red faced. I tapped my wrist, pretending to wear a watch before continuing my trek back to the gate where we were supposed to meet up again.

''Thank goodness you three are here.'' My mom and Agnes said relieved. As I neared the gate, Emily and Damian following me.

''I thought I'd take these two with me, that way you guys don't have to worry about them.'' I said, winking at Emily and Damian, who looked at me awkwardly.

''Time for vacation! Wohooo!'' Nathalie said wrapping herself around my arm and dragging me into the plane.

* * *

The sound of the seagulls screeching while flying over the cliff near the bay, woke me up from my afternoon nap.

''Did you fall asleep again?'' Yi asked annoyed as I let out a yawn. ''Mark, you need to stay awake when you're meditating.''

''Come on Yi, I'm on vacation. I earned my rest.'' I wined.

''You just be happy that I don't make you spar.'' Yi said breaking up our argument with laughter. ''You're right. Taking it easy for a change is nice.'' Yi said letting out a sigh.

I got up from my towel in the sun and took a look around. Agnes and my mom were talking and smiling underneath a big umbrella, Emily and Damian were enjoying themselves in the water of the bay as Nathalie lay on a blowup bed in the water near the edge of a large rock, towering over the bay. _Time to have some fun…_

I climbed up the rock and looked down to see if it was safe to jump down. ''Looks good enough.''

''NATH! HELP I'M GONNA FALL!'' I yelled, hanging from the rock. ''HEEEELP!'' I fake screamed so only Nathalie could hear.

''HOLY SHIT MARK! HOLD ON!'' Nathalie yelled jumping into the water before running over the sand of the beach. ''I'M NEARLY THERE!'' She said climbing up the rock before walking up to the edge and giving me her hand, helping me up from the cliff. ''What the hell were you thinking!?'' Nathalie said giving me an angry look. ''You could have gotten hurt or even worse!''

''Well, I was never in any remote danger. I faked all of it.'' I said resting one of my arms on her shoulder.

''WHAT. THE. HELL. MARK!?'' Nathalie said pushing my arm off of her, giving me a furious look. ''I nearly had a heart attack! You better have a damn good reason for this!''

''Well I knew that I'd never get you up here by asking nicely, so I faked it.'' I said grinning as all the puzzle pieces began falling into place and Nathalie began to realize what was going to happen next.

''Wait a minute…'' Nathalie said looking down the edge of the rock. I stood next to Nathalie and picked her up from the rock, holding her bridal style. ''MARK DON'T YOU DARE.'' Nathalie yelled, while squirming within my grasp. ''DON'T YOU DARE BE A DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII-'' Nathalie screamed as I jumped off the cliff holding her close to me and into the water.

I opened my eyes underwater and looked at Nathalie. The rays of the sun shined through the water, illuminating the crystal clear water. Nathalie looked stunning, her hair looked beautiful underwater, floating wildly around her. She noticed me staring and smiled motioning to go back above water. After emerging from the water, I took a deep breath before being splashed in the face with water.

''You dick!'' Nathalie laughed splashing a bit more water over my face.

''You should have seen it coming, honestly how long have you known me for?'' I asked, swimming next to her.

''Mark this isn't school camp in grade school where pushing a girl into the water is funny! You could have gotten hurt!'' Nathalie argued, while climbing back onto her blowup bed.

''Hey Nathalie?'' I asked with a grin.

''What is it baby?'' She asked putting her sunglasses back on.

''If you're planning on going topless tell me next time, I'd bring my camera.'' I said holding the top of her bikini grinning.

''Wha- Give me that!'' Nathalie said blushing while snatching the top from my hands and quickly putting it back on. ''How long were you holding on to that?''

''Only for a moment. I expected you to notice it missing sooner.'' I said laughing before noticing her ashamed face. ''Hey don't be like that, there's nothing to be ashamed of… I mean I've seen you naked many times before and I'm sure no one else was even paying attention.''

''As always, Mr. Smooth with the save.'' Nathalie said bending down from her blowup bed and giving me a quick kiss before resuming her sunbathing. ''Just don't think I'm helping your dumb ass again when you're hanging from that rock.'' She said pouting.

''Heh, noted.'' I said enjoying the hypnotic rhythm of the ocean's waves.

* * *

''Well? What do you think?'' Nathalie said twirling around, showing off her new bathing suit. After the little incident with her bikini the other day, Nathalie insisted on getting a bathing suit. At first I was skeptical but after an afternoon of shopping with Agnes and Emily, she came back with something I didn't expect. ''Do you like it?'' She asked awaiting my response.

''I'm… speechless.'' I said inspecting her newly acquired outfit. When Nathalie said she wanted a bathing suit, I was expecting one of those old fashioned black monstrosities. But what she came back with, looked amazing on her.

The bathing suit looked like it was split into two pieces but it was made of the same material. The top was yellow with blue lining and from the waist down the suit was a dark purple. To finish off the look, Nathalie had bought a thin yellow see-through silk cloth and wrapped it around her waist, covering her thighs, but still showing off her amazing, sporty figure due to the thin silk.

''In a good way? or in a bad way?'' Nathalie asked looking away bashfully, while playing with a lock of hair.

''Obviously a good way!'' I quickly said raising my hands in defense. ''Did Leona help you with putting together the outfit?'' I asked as I began to realize something.

''Uhm… Yeah, she said this looked really good on me.'' Nathalie said with a confused face. ''How did you guess that?''

''Just a gut feeling.'' I said, pushing Pool Party Leona's bathing suit out of my head. ''I just thought I had seen it somewhere before, but that's just strange.'' I said smiling at Nathalie's confused face.

''Well… I'm glad you like it.'' Nathalie said with a grin. ''I can't believe this is already the last evening, this vacation just blew over.'' She said with a sigh. ''Hey I just got a great idea. What about we book an extra week?'' Nathalie said grinning.

''Nath we can't. As much as I would love to, we just can't. Damian needs more training and we need to keep improving aswell.'' I said looking at the clock. ''Nath can you take my backpack with you? I want to show you something I saw on one of my morning runs.'' I asked her, earning a nod from her as she put my backpack on her back.

''Where are we going? Do I need to change? I mean I'm only wearing my bathing suit, isn't that a little inappropriate?'' Nathalie asked, barraging me with questions.

I put my finger on her lips, silencing her and making her pout slightly. ''Just hold on to my backpack and DON'T lose it.'' I said with a hint of importance.

''Got i- Oooh!'' Nathalie yelped out in surprise as I picked her up bridal style for the second time this vacation. ''Mark, don't you dare throw me off that rock again.'' Nathalie said laughing.

''I promise I won't.'' I said, fusing with Yi. ''Hold on to your hat… uhm, bathing suit, we'll be there in a moment.'' I said running out of our hotel room.

* * *

It took about five minutes for Mark, seven including me, to travel outside of the resort. He had ran out of the city and into the mountains, looking over the resort we were staying at, he passed the private bay, we had been using for the last couple of days. All of a sudden he stopped on a dirt road, putting me on it.

''I want you to follow this path up to the mountain. I'll be waiting for you, I just need to set up a few things.'' Mark said taking his backpack from me. ''Be careful while walking up the mountain with your flip flops. I'll see you soon.'' He said running off, creating a small dust cloud.

After five minutes of walking up the mountain side and cursing Mark for leaving me to walk such a long road, I noticed candle light, coming from near de edge of the cliff. I walked pass a couple of trees. Revealing Mark sitting on a blanket, surrounded by a few lit candles.

''Well? What do you think?'' He said raising his arms, presenting the romantic atmosphere he had created. ''Not bad for a goofball like me right?'' He said grinning.

''Oh my god Mark, it's beautiful.'' I said in awe as I looked over the edge of the cliff. The view was amazing, the cliff was south from the resort and looked over the whole thing. ''How did you know?''

''Well, I've been looking for a place like this, where we can be alone, just the two of us.'' He said looking at the resort below the cliff. ''And after you mentioned you wanted to see the fireworks at the end of the week, I started planning everything here.'' He said proud of himself.

''This is just perfect.'' I said sitting next to him on the blanket as he pulled me closer to him.

''Here put your phone in here.'' He said opening his backpack. ''No distractions. No Leona spying on us. No Emily barging into our room. (I giggled as I remembered one of the first days at the resort. Mark and I just got out of the shower and Emily straight up walked into our room, needless to say she was scarred for life.) No nothing.'' He said holding my hands and looking into my eyes.

''Hey! I heard tha-'' Leona said, being interrupted by me throwing my phone into the backpack and closing the pack, throwing it aside.

''Nathalie, you have to be, the most important thing in my life.'' Mark said cherishing my hands with his own. ''I really don't know what I'd do without you.'' He said looking deep into my eyes, never breaking contact with me.

''Oh, come here you!'' I said getting impatient with him sweet talking me. We both knew where this talk was heading, and to be honest, I couldn't wait any longer.

I nearly jumped Mark pinning him to the ground, kissing him. I could barely contain myself as he held onto my lower back, carefully stroking it, sending shivers up my spine. My lust seemed contagious as Mark began to get into the kiss more, taking control, just like the first time in the gardens. He broke up the kiss for a moment to catch his breath.

''What is it big guy? Can't handle me?'' I said before yelping in surprise as Mark rolled over, turning the tables on me and pinning me to the ground. He began kissing me again, but this time with more lust, almost ferociously. After a moment he broke up the kiss and moved down, kissing my neck. The soft kisses mixed with a careful bite every now and then was a whole new sensation, making me go crazy. I felt the crimson shade on my face get more and more intense as Mark made his way down my neck, leaving a trail of kisses and little bite marks.

I wanted to scream out in pleasure as he continued his assault, but was afraid someone would hear us. I covered my mouth with my hands, moaning into them. Mark took this as a signal to stop as he got back up and inspected my pleasure filled face.

''Who's handling, who here?'' He asked as he grinned at my reddened face. I let my head drop onto the blanket, taking raspy breaths. He smiled at my face, still regaining from the ecstasy of the moment.

''How… did you know… I'd… like that?'' I asked, still trying to regain my breath.

''Just something I wanted to try out and see if I got any reaction.'' Mark said nonchalantly, moving off of me. ''Especially after you left your mark on my back, last time.'' He said motioning to his back.

''I'll make it up to you for that.'' I said taking off the top side of my bathing suit. ''Let's try out some more things.'' I said with a devilish grin before kissing Mark again.

* * *

After a solid half hour of 'experimenting' and exploring eachother's bodies. We lay on the blanket, both catching our breath. I carefully rolled off of Mark's chest so I could lay next to him on the blanket.

''Holy crap.'' He said catching his breath. ''That was amazing.'' We both said panting slightly before starting to laugh and giggle.

''I can't believe we just did that.'' I said realizing all the things we did, outdoors aswell.

''Well we learned a lot for next time.'' Mark said, slowly getting back up and putting his shirt and pants back on. ''Especially the kissing, I really thought you passed out on me for a moment there.'' Mark said laughing as I punched his arm lightly.

''Oh hush you.'' I said fixing my bathing suit to cover my body again. ''But the way you kissed me, never change that.'' I said getting closer to Mark. ''Did we miss the fireworks?''

''Heh, pretty sure we made the fireworks, Nath.'' Mark said throwing an arm over my shoulder pulling me closer to him.

''Seriously? A sex pun? I asked a legitimate quest-'' My little rant was interrupted by a few shrieks followed by colorful explosions. ''Oh…'' we said in awe as we watched the fireworks.

A moment passed as we enjoyed the fireworks together. After a minute or so two Mark started to look around in his backpack, annoying me a bit. He pulled something out of pack and started to fidget with it nervously.

After a short moment I couldn't take it any longer and spoke up with an annoyed tone in my voice. ''I thought you wanted to spend alone time with me?'' I asked confused, trying to hide my annoyance.

''I am, it's just that I…'' He said looking away nervously.

''Well? Speak up you goofball, it's not like I'm going to reject you after dating for almost three months.'' I said trying to take a better look at the box he was holding.

'Heh, three months already. Funny that you mentioned that.'' Mark said staring into my eyes. ''Nath, I heard you girls talking in that jewelry store and my mom told you something.'' He said. My eyes grew wide with surprise as I was starting to understand what was in the box.

''No-'' I said in disbelief, my eyes never leaving his.

''I didn't understand what was so funny at the time, but when I asked the owner of the shop, everything became clear to me.'' He said smiling at me.

''No you didn't.'' I said as I felt tears forming in my eyes.

Mark opened the little box to reveal the ring I liked so much back at the jewelry store. ''The man told me that this is a wedding ring, an expensive one at that. But after what happened in the city, I wanted you to have it, as a reminder in case something ever happens.'' He said taking the ring out of the box.

''You can't just do something like that.'' I said covering my mouth our of surprise, tears falling down my face. ''We… We can't get married, we're way too young for something like that.'' I said. ''Wait that came out horribly…''

''No I understand. It's like I said. Our jobs mean taking so many risks and endangering our lives, so I wanted you to have this. And who knows? Maybe one day we will be able to get married and spend life together.''

''What about… after this all blows over?'' I asked wiping away the tears of joy in my eyes. ''When we no longer have to risk our lives?''

''I'd love nothing more.'' He said putting the ring on my finger as the last of the fireworks shot up into the air.

''Hey! What about us?'' Yi asked interrupting the moment. ''Getting married after this all blows over? That means we won't be around to see it? That would truly be a shame.''

''I agree with Yi! What are you two thinking? Leaving us out of such an important moment!'' Leona said joining Yi's side, making both Mark and me laugh.

''Ofcourse you two are welcome, I suppose we'll have to get married sooner than planned. Heehee.'' I said giggling as I rested my head on Mark's shoulder. ''This was the best vacation ever.'' I said. ''And it's all thanks to you.''

 _I love you, Mark O'Neill and that will never change._

* * *

 **YOOOO my peeps, Emerald here with the last part of the first season! Stuff going down! Romance happening! Things happening! Excitement! Atleast I hope so… It was finally time for Mark to take on Viktor, but he may have underestimated The Machine Herald a bit. But Emerald that's not fair to say! Mark has been running around the city and fighting Zed and a Battlecast! To that I say… Well… You might be right, but he wasn't ready to face off against Viktor and his toys yet.**

 **Anyway, moving on. Who was the figure saving Mark? (I think it's fairly obvious but you never know -.-) What will happen in season 2? What does Viktor need with blood and hair? AND WHAT IS PHASE 2 OF VIKTORS PLAN! AAAAAAH.**

 **Ok, time to chill. I went a little overboard with my freak-out there, now all together. Inhale slowly, and exhale slowly… Ok, everyone calm again? Good me too.**

 **Now that everyone's calmed down again, it's that time of the chapter again where I advertise the discord channel! You can enter the Discord channel by typing in: discord dot gg /BWpaKr9**

 **Just remember to be respectful to others and don't be racist and we can all have a good time k? We got multiple authors in the channel, just dying to answer any questions you have for them! And a lot of other readers who are super fun to be around, so come join us for even more fun!**

 **Well there you have it peeps! The end of season 1! Like I said last time, season 2 will continue here, under the same name. Basically nothing changed really, I just like keep things organized and by creating seasons I get the feeling that it's just that! Anyway thank you guys for sticking with me and I hope you enjoy the rest of the journey!**

 **One last side note before I go! I said that An Angel's thief was going to launch after this chapter, but after making a time-lapse of PE season 2 I kinda stressed myself out. I need to be at a curtain point in the story around Halloween so I can bring you guys the holiday specials that I've got planned, if I don't make it I'll be really sad and I'll have to come up with something else and let me tell you, if I have to come up with something else, you won't get the full experience!**

 **I personally want to thank Lehnox for helping me come up with a name for the coffee place mentioned this chapter. (Sorry for not using the name earlier, but I never revisited the whole coffee place scene after asking for a name. classic me being a dumb-dumb.)**

 **Anywho enough getting sidetracked. Thanks so much for reading, reviewing and bookmarking the story! (If you did ofc. you don't have to if you don't want to .),**

 **Until Next time,**

 **Emerald out!**


	23. Chapter 23

PROJECT: Earth

Chapter 23: New beginnings

 _~ Two months after taking back the city ~_

 _East Pacific Ocean._

 _Unknown research facility._

''We're undetected. It's up to you now kid.'' Jason said putting his hand on my shoulder. ''You know the plan?''

''Ofcourse I know the plan, I was the one who came up with it…'' I said giving Jason a bored look. ''I'll get in and take a look, you just make sure your men are ready to get the hell off the island once I get what we're here for.''

''Copy.'' Jason said giving me a quick nod before turning to his men. ''Okay, everyone check your gear we're about to hit land. Look alive Specters.'' He yelled ordering his men, to gear up. _So cool…_

Last night I got a call from some guy called Pete, he told me he was the new CO of our operations, what was strange because I thought Mark was in charge. He told me to get to the base as soon as possible, so ofcourse I complied.

I got filled in on the situation and accepted my part in the infiltration operation. A presumed deserted island in the Pacific, harboring a facility tasked with constructing new Battlecasts. I was assigned to the Specter squad, one of the special forces groups, that from now on, will assist us in fighting Viktor.

In the months after taking back the city, new problems started to arise. A giant Battlecast Vel'Koz model had attacked an airport in Europe. Countless people died, even more injured or missing, millions of dollars of damage… It took the military three hours to weaken it, something that would have taken us fifteen minutes. Afterwards we decided it was time to go global, and that's where we are right now. After weeks of negotiating, Mark finally announced that we were going global.

''Specters, set up a perimeter around the facility.'' I said over the coms, getting short responses send back. _These guys are the real deal, barely any talking just all military jargon. So freaking cool…_

''Good luck kid.'' Jason, their squad leader said, over the coms. ''Make sure to not use your coms too much, there might be enemies listening in. We call it radio silence, not sure if you've heard of it before.''

''Got it Captain.'' I said turning off my coms. ''Ekko, do you see a way in?'' I asked climbing up the roof of the facility using a fire escape. _Strange why would there be a fire escape? Viktor doesn't employ does he?_

''Blueprints show that there should be a glass ceiling overhead.'' Ekko explained. ''That should be the quickest way in, the most obvious but quickest way.'' He said thinking about the consequences as I towered over the glass ceiling. ''You know what? On second thought, let's just pry open a door and-''

I interrupted Ekko by throwing a Timewinder through the glass, shattering the glass and dropping down into the facility. ''Do you want to get found out!?'' Ekko snapped at me.

''Dude, chill. There's no one inside.'' I said landing onto a metal bridge inside the facility. ''This place is completely abandoned.'' I said as I looked down into what looked like an automated factory.

''Holy crap, it's all machines, not that I expect Viktor to have employees after what happened with CORE.'' Ekko said as we walked over the bridge. Underneath us metal arms were busy mass constructing armor plating, canons, claws, chains and constructing what looked like metal carcasses.

''Is it getting hot in here? Or is it just me?'' I asked noticing the change in warmth.

''This really isn't the time to practice your pickup lines, Damian.'' Ekko said with a bored tone. ''You really should just ask her out man, she's into you.''

''Not what I meant.'' I said pointing down. Underneath us were huge iron pots of molten metal chained to mechanical arms, busy casting metal frames. The steam created by the molten metal as it got cooled and the heat from the metal were what caused the insane heat.

''Looks like were going down.'' Ekko said as we followed a stairway, going down into the factory. ''Damian are you seeing this?'' Ekko asked. ''I can't believe there's this many…'' We said in awe as we passed a shipment area filled with crates in differing sizes.

The staircase led to a display area, showing off the Battlecasts being constructed in the factory, complete with video display of the machines abilities and specific details. ''This is like a weapons fair, like Viktor is showing off his Battlecasts,'' I said walking into a presentation room.

The room I walked into was almost fully white, was it not for the giant black screen on the wall. As I walked into the middle of the room a platform started to rise from the ground. On the platform stood a new Battlecast model. After the platform rose a female voice began talking and a presentation video started playing on the screen.

''Battlecast Alpha Skarner. The ultimate all terrain fighting machine. Armed with diamond enhanced chainsaws, this Battlecast can cut through almost anything. It's stinger is made of a armor piercing material, strong enough penetrate any armor.'' _Pfff It won't pierce a PROJECT armor._ As the presentation continued, I quickly made my way towards the next presentation room.

Once again a platform rose from the ground, revealing another Battlecast, and surely the female voice began talking as a new video presented itself.

''Battlecast Kog'Maw. Small, compact and able to move around fast in urban areas, this Battlecast is a perfect anti infantry machine. Armed with a twenty-three inch rifle barrel for precision shots or caustic rounds, a double barreled machine gun for close quarter combat, a flamethrower to ignite enemies caught in its oil spills and an artillery canon, this machine is ready for any soldier coming its way. To top it off its self-destruct mechanism activates directly after extreme function loss, giving it a final chance to take as many hostiles with it as possible.'' I walked pass the displayed model, inspecting the machines before opening my hacking tool.

''Let's get as much as we can, Ekko.'' I said, wirelessly hacking into the system of the facility, giving Ekko access to take whatever he could find in the stored data.

''Already on it, I have enough information to shut this factory down for good.'' Ekko exclaimed. ''Let's have another look in the final presentation room before getting out of here, we need to wait for orders anyway.''

I walked into the last presentation room. I expected Battlecast Urgot to be presented but the room was empty with a message playing on the big black screen that read 'Battlecast Urgot, still in development.'. I let out a sigh of relief as Viktor hadn't constructed more monstrosities yet. ''Lucky us.'' I said. ''We didn't need more to deal with.'' I said making my way back through the presentation rooms.

''What's that supposed to mean? We're doing fine, the only thing we've struggled with is fighting Viktor and all his heralds in one day.'' Ekko asked.

''Well besides Viktor and PROJECT Lucian. We have to deal with Mecha Kha'Zix, Battlecast Vel'Koz, Cho'Gath and now Skarner and Kog'Maw aswell…'' I said, walking pass a line of machines constructing Skarner carcasses. _God this place gives me the creeps. Well might aswell take a selfie with one of those Skarner heads! Emily's gonna freak when she sees this…_

''Ok, fair point. These things are being mass produced after all.'' Ekko said thinking about the bigger picture. ''Oh, I just a reply from Pete!''

''Well? What does it say?'' I asked excited as I took out my phone and quickly snapped a picture with one of the Skarner heads.

''Authorized to destroy the facility, we got all the information we need. Standing by for 'go' order.'' Ekko said. ''That means infiltration completed successful! Let's get the hell out of here and watch this place get blown to the ground.'' Ekko said as I made my way back up the bridge again.

''I'm afraid I can't let you leave just yet.'' A female voice said from above us. I looked up and saw a traceable line of pink neon light jump down, landing on the bridge. The figure walked into the light, revealing her scarlet headgear and long white hair.

''PROJECT Katarina? Where have you been the last three months?'' I asked out of confusion. ''We could've used your help fighting off Viktor!''

''Kid, you are fighting the wrong fight. Save yourself the trouble and join us. Help the master take control of this world. I'm sure your father would be happy to hear that.'' Katarina said drawing her blades with a smirk.

''I'll never join you! You're all crazy for trusting Victor!'' I said taking a few steps back as Katarina took a few forward. ''I'm not here to fight you Katarina. I was just leaving, actually.'' I said raising my baton, ready to defend myself as she kept taking steps forward, making her heels click with every step.

''Fine by me, makes you easier to kill.'' She said cockily before using Shunpo. I expected her to do so and turned around, blocking her dagger with my baton, her dagger inches away from my face. ''Fast and agile, that girl must be lucky.'' Katarina taunted before twisting my baton out of the way with her daggers and vaulting over me.

''I don't know what you're talking about!'' I said alerted. _If she finds out about Emily, Mark's going to be pissed… Not to mention Emily will be in danger… again…_

''Kid let's not pretend that I didn't shadow you from moment you set foot in this factory.'' Katarina said with a bored tone before throwing a Bouncing Blade cutting part of the support cable, holding the bridge in place above the molten metal. ''Now let's see what you're made off.''

As the bridge dangled above the molten metal, I held on for dear life, feeling the heat of the molten metal underneath me. Katarina looked down from the part of the bridge that wasn't being affected by the cut cables, showing off her cocky grin. ''I knew you wouldn't go down that easily.'' She said, pulling the blade out of the bridge. ''Let's see how well you do in the next situation.'' Katarina said cutting the remaining support cable as she walked away, making the rest of the bridge fall into the molten metal with me still dangling on them.

''Damian! The Z-Drive! Use it!'' Ekko yelled as the bridge with us on it neared the molten metal. I pulled the cord on the Z-Drive, activating it as I was pulled back in time to the moment where I was still standing on the bridge, which didn't get it's time rewinded, unfortunately.

''Shit!'' I cursed as I grabbed a hold of the still hanging bridge, barely holding onto it. ''Why can't I still not turn back all of time? Ugh, it's so frustrating.'' I said pulling myself up from the ridge.

''Good save!'' Ekko complimented as I made my way back up the bridge.

''Oh, I didn't expect you to be so full of tricks.'' Katarina mocked, sitting on the railing of the bridge. ''You're just full of surprises aren't you?'' She said throwing a dagger into the air before charging me again.

'' _We can't stay here, we need to get out in the open!''_ Ekko said mentally. _''If we can get her outside, we can destroy the factory and get support from Jason and the Specters!''_

'' _Already on it!''_ I told Ekko as I used Phase Dive, sliding pass Katarina's attack, earning myself a small cut in my armors shoulder before making a run for the glass windows of the factory. As I ran up, I threw a Timewinder, shattering the glass and casted Parallel Convergence, making the alternate me bat the device down towards the ground before jumping out of the shattered window.

''What are you doing! This isn't any better from fighting heeeeeeeeeeeer!'' Ekko screamed as we fell down, after a second of falling we began nearing the ground, right before hitting the ground, Parallel Convergence' time sphere opened up, catching me and breaking most of the fall.

''That… was a close one…'' I said catching my breath as I noticed I was getting tired. _Strange_ , _I never get tired this fast…_ I thought before looking up at the shattered window. _No sign of Katarina, she's probably still in there…_ ''Captain, can you see me?'' I asked, opening the coms. A bit panicked as I didn't know where Katarina went.

''I got eyes on you kid. What took you so long?'' Jason asked a bit worried about me.

''Long story short, we got trouble.'' I said getting back up. ''Ekko, call in the strike. We're leaving.'' I said walking off.

''Running off so soon? Without telling me? What a shame… I was starting to enjoy myself.'' Katarina said walking up slowly, inspecting a dagger. ''That was impressive, the way you handled such a stressful situation.''

''Captain, I need you ready to take a shot.'' I whispered.

''Don't tell me you want him to shoot me?'' Katarina asked pretending to be hurt, hiding her cocky smile behind her dagger. ''I want to have a bit more fun.''

''On it.'' Jason said as I heard the cocking of a rifle over the coms. ''Just tell me what to aim for.''

''The dagger she's about to throw up into the air, wait for it to fall down again.'' I whispered. In the split second after telling Jason what to do, Katarina threw her dagger into the air, preparing it for later. She also threw a Bouncing Blade and used Shunpo to end up behind me, using Death Lotus, impaling me with a small flurry of blades.

During her dance of death, Katarina caught her Bouncing Blade, adding another cut to the hellish pain I was experiencing. A shot from a rifle could be heard, making Katarina stop her assault and cartwheel away from me. The bullet hit the dagger as I instructed, knocking it out of the way, denying Katarina another Shunpo reset.

''Tricky one aren't you?'' She asked looking my way.

''Now that you don't have anything left to fight with, let's dance-'' I said as my line of sight blurring and twisting. ''Wha-'' I said taking a knee as the world around me began twisting out of control.

''You aren't the only one full of surprises.'' Katarina said taking out a vial from one of her many pockets and throwing it my way, not that I was able to read it in my current condition. ''It's called Nightshade, a deadly poison made from a plant called Belladonna.'' She explained cockily.

''A word to describe beautiful woman.'' I said grinning. ''Fits the person using it.''

''Oh my. Agile, fast sporty, flexible, smart and a flatterer? You know what a woman likes.'' She complimented. ''I enhanced the poison on my daggers, normally it would take days for it to work but with a few changes the symptoms are almost instantly.''

''So I've noticed.'' I said, feeling my heart beat rise to the point that it started hurting and beginning to feel disoriented aswell. _''THE Z-DRIVE! USE IT! THIS POINSON WILL KILL YOU WITHIN MINUTES!''_ I heard Ekko yell trough my head. I slowly moved my arm towards the cord of the Z-Drive, careful not to alert Katarina.

''With the two cuts I made and the stress you are under, you should be dead within a minute or two, I'll just enjoy the show from afar.'' Katarina said, picking up her thrown dagger.

''I… don't… think so…'' I said, feeling the urge to vomit, before pulling the cord on the Z-Drive, shattering time around me again. ''We aren't done here yet.'' I said, landing on my feet, holding my baton up in the air.

''Twice within five minutes? Impressive.'' Katarina said running up, pulling a dagger back. ''It won't matter once I make another cut.'' She said baring her teeth as we clashed again.

''Kid you might want to run!'' Jason said over the coms as I heard a jet engine getting closer. _The drone strike!_

I was caught off guard by Katarina. She had also noticed the incoming airstrike and pushed me away before jumping towards me. A huge explosion could be seen behind us as the power of the blast knocked us both off of our feet. Katarina pinned me to the ground, looking down at me with a grin before kissing me. Completely catching me off guard. It wasn't a quick peck either, it was a full on lustful kiss. The feeling of this woman's soft lips on my own felt amazing, I was almost giving in to the her lustful approach if it wasn't for my mind screaming at me that ''This was the enemy! Think about Emily!''

After the quick kiss she sat up and put one arm into the air. ''This was fun. We should do this again some time.'' She said blowing a at me a kiss with her other hand as a Battlecast Vel'Koz swooped in, pulling her into the air by constricting a tentacle around her arm.

I slowly got up, catching my breath. ''Emily's going to kill me.'' I said realizing what just happened.

* * *

A peaceful song played in the bedroom, calm yet loud enough to wake me up from my slumber. With a groan I pressed the button on the alarm, turning it off. I felt the covers next to me move a bit as a pair of hands covered my chest, pulling me into a hug from behind.

''I don't want to get up… It's way too early'' I said sleepily as the hands around me began poking me in my side. ''I can't see another stack of papers, no wonder Alisha was always so grumpy…'' I said trying to fall back asleep as the poking stopped.

''C'mon boo, time to wake up.'' Nathalie said, opening the velvet drapes to the bedroom, bathing the room in sunlight. ''We've already slept in enough.'' She said, walking towards her side of the bed and throwing her pillow in my face.

''Fine, fine. Just- stop hitting me!'' I said getting up from the bed, still receiving a pillow to the back. ''I'll get to making a pot of coffee, you just use the bathroom first.'' I said waving off Nathalie.

''Aww, Mark, that's so sweet.'' Nathalie said walking into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

''You know that's the part where you say, 'No you get ready first.'.'' I said knocking on the bathroom door, only receiving giggling from the other side of the door as the shower began to run. With a sigh I walked into the living room.

''Good morning sleepy head.'' Leona said as cheery as ever, her voice coming from a speaker near the TV. ''How are you this fine morning? Enjoying my sunny rays?''

''Nope…'' I said drowsy as I made my way into the kitchen, readying a pot of coffee. ''I'm not really enjoying this morning…'' I said, massaging my legs.

''Well you're about to be.'' Nathalie said from inside the bathroom. ''You just wait.''

''Mark don't forget that you need an injection today.'' Yi said, his face appearing on the display on the fridge. ''It's been a week, so that means you need to fill up on Hex.''

''I know, I really want to avoid forgetting it another time.'' I said thinking back to a few weeks back, while pouring two mugs full of coffee. ''Not being able to walk or stand is rather annoying, not to mention the pain.'' I said taking a sip from my mug.

''Oh before I forget, we got three calls from Damian this morning.'' Leona told me.

''Why didn't you answer? It's not like you're inside the phone, ow wait, you are…'' I said opening the fridge, going through its contents.

''Uhm, I was asleep? No need to be so bitter…'' Leona said with a sigh. ''You've been really tense lately, you know that?'' She asked with a hint of worry in her voice.

''It's just, with everything going on…'' I said taking out a small vial with green goo. ''Viktor is still out there, Europe is getting terrorized and we're barely able to do anything because we need to be called apon.''

''Until now.'' Yi said interrupting me. ''The voicemail Damian left was about a infiltration in the pacific, he and a group of specialists went and take a look.''

''Wait what!?'' I asked as I readied the vial in a medicine pen. ''Damian running a op? Right now?'' I asked injecting the Hex directly into my leg. ''Fffffff- that stings…'' I whispered as the Hex began to do its job, I felt the stiffness in my leg beginning to numb as I let out a sigh of relief.

''His transport should land in a few hours, he already messaged that the operation was a success. He'll brief you two on the details when he gets the chance.'' Yi said, his voice going from the fridge' display to the speaker inside the living room.

''Hey! I'm already in here! This place is way too crowded for the both of us!'' Leona said, her voice also coming from the speaker, as the two champions started to argue over who got to use the speaker, Nathalie walked out of the bathroom.

''Ooooh, Marhaaark…'' Nathalie said seductively, all dressed up. ''I'll be waiting for you downstairs you better hurry.'' Nathalie said walking pass me dressed in a skin tight body suit, carrying a helmet underneath her arm.

''Oh no you don't, I made you a cup of coffee. You need to watch what you're eating. Even sparring takes energy and skipping breakfast isn't the way to start a day anyway.'' I said stopping her and handing her, her mug before walking into the bathroom, getting ready to shower.

''You're one to talk…'' Nathalie muttered under her breath, making me frown. ''Fiiiiiine I'll drink the damn coffee, but I won't have breakfast, last night's dinner was enough for now.'' Nathalie said from the kitchen. ''Well that's it for me, hurry up and get dressed! I can't wait to get back to the base. C'mon Leo!'' I heard Nathalie yell as the door to the apartment was shut.

 _Sure she gets to enjoy a shower, but I don't…_

After a short shower and putting on a clean set of clothes for the day, I walked down to the parking area of building that housed our apartment. I looked around if anyone was around and fused with Yi. During my usual check of the armor, I heard the click of a camera, making me turn around.

''Got ya.'' A woman in a motorcycle outfit said giving me a peace sign with her free hand. ''You really should pay more attention to your surroundings.''

''Very funny Nath, where did you put your bike?'' I said stretching my legs a bit.

''It's parked outside, dur.'' Nathalie said pushing a button inside the garage, opening the doors. ''There she is! My beauty.'' She said hugging her motorcycle.

''I still can't believe you got a license to drive a motorcycle, do you even know how dangerous those things are?'' I said pointing at Nathalie's bike.

''Oh please like the rest of our lives isn't dangerous.'' She said taking a moment to get comfortable on the bike and starting the engine. ''And stop complaining, you were the one who said that he wanted to race me, well look at the beautiful weather, the time is now!'' Nathalie said motioning me to stand next to her.

''Ready to lose?'' I said activating Highlander and got ready. ''And please, don't do anything stupid on that thing just because we're having a race doesn't mean you should get hurt.'' I said looking at her helmet which was probably blocking a annoyed glance on the other side. ''So when are we going to start? Like on three or on one?''

''How about right now?'' Nathalie said driving off onto the road. _Typical…_

I took a moment longer to reach a comfortable speed, dodging traffic in the process. I took a look around me, noticing a motorcycle a bit up ahead, passing it within seconds, leaving an orange streak in my way. _That was easy…_

''Mark I got something.'' Yi said as we zoomed pass a couple of cars.

''What's up? Battlecasts? Lucian? Viktor?'' I asked getting excited.

''No, thank heavens no, don't be silly.'' Yi said chuckling a bit. ''Police report on a jewelry store being robbed, no hostages held at gunpoint, four men armed and dangerous.'' Yi explained.

''So nothing we can't handle, got it.'' I said taking a sharp left, running towards the expensive shopping district, I took a quick glance over my shoulder to see if Nathalie caught up yet. Not seeing anything I decided it was time to focus on the task at hand.

Two police cars stood parked near the store, the officers hiding behind their cars and negotiating with the men inside. I came to a hold next to the officers. ''Good day, what's the situation?'' I asked the baffled officers.

''Uhm… how? Right.'' The one officer said quickly shaking his head. ''Four men, holding up the place. They don't have a way out, we already made sure the getaway car wouldn't drive.''

''Great job, I'll handle this, give me… You know what? let's make it interesting. Two minutes.'' I said running into the store.

''He's going to be here any moment now, get ready with those armor piercing rounds.'' One of the crooks said, grabbing some gemstones from a shattered display.

''You guys know that robbing a store in my city really isn't the smartest thing to do?'' I asked the four men, one of them got spooked and fired his gun at me. The bullets embedded itself into my armor and fell straight off. I looked down at the bullets falling to the ground, barely leaving a dent. ''Wow, that's just sad.''

''He shouldn't have been here! We should've had atleast a whole minute!'' One of the other crooks said, looking at one of his comrades.

''Wow, I just keep improving don't I?'' I asked, crossing my arms, reacting to the comment made by one of the robbers.

''Wise guy eh? Take a load of this!'' One of the others said firing a shotgun my way. I dodged the pallets shot my way with Highlander and tapped my feet on the ground.

''A for effort, my turn!'' I said running through the store, beating up the crooks one by one, occasionally moving a person on the ground out of the way of random gunfire.

''It's been almost two minutes, do you think we need to help him?'' One of the officers asked his partner.

''How long did that take?'' I said leaning on the officers shoulder, in return the officer showed his watch with a timer on it. ''Damn, including my witty comments and playing around that took one minute and fifty seconds? Not bad.''

''We knew we could count on you.'' The other officer said, laughing at his colleague's frown. ''You're paying for lunch later.'' He said slapping his partner on the shoulder.

''Any day officers.'' I said giving them both a nod and posing for a quick picture before running off. ''Yi, how far behind are we?'' I asked as I passed a flower stand, stopping in my tracks.

''You still have enough time. What's the plan?'' Yi asked cheery.

''Well, either a sunflower or a rose… What do you think?'' I said inspecting the flowers of the small stand with my armored hand on my chin.

''I'm sure Nathalie likes both, but a Sunflower's a bit big don't you agree?'' Yi asked.

''Point taken. I'll have one rose please.'' I told the baffled florist behind the stand. As she packed the rose I took out my wallet and put down the money for the flower.

''Wow, I can't take money from you. You saved my business many times.'' The young girl said, handing me the rose and my money back.

''Oh? How so?'' I asked interested in the girls story, while leaning on my blade.

''Well you're attracting a lot of people to the city, hoping to catch a glance at the protectors. Leading to them, sometimes buying flowers from my stand. Not to mention if it wasn't for you stopping Viktor, there wouldn't have been a business to run.'' She said moving a stray strand of hair out of her face, looking away.

 _Is she… blushing? Oh, dear… Nath isn't going to like listening to this one…_

''Time to go, Casanova.'' Yi said interrupting my train of thoughts and startling the girl.

''Right.'' I said nodding. ''Here, keep the change.'' I said handing the girl enough money for atleast a bouquet of roses before running off again.

''You really have to stop getting sidetracked, it's getting on my nerves.'' Yi said calmly.

''You mean you just don't like losing a race.'' I said increasing my speed, nearing the base.

I ran up to the fence surrounding the base, as it slowly began to open as I zoomed pass it. _Seems like those sensors are finally working, no more running into the fence, yay…_ I slowed down in front of the entrance, taking off my helmet and stretching my arms as Nathalie walked up to me after arriving a few minutes later.

''No fair! You took a different route didn't you!?'' Nathalie said taking off her helmet before pointing a finger at my chest. ''I saw you take a left turn! You cheater!'' She said playfully, faking her anger.

''You're right, you got me. I took a detour, I stopped a robbery in progress and finished the race with one hand behind my back.'' I said making Nathalie frown, before moving my hand from behind my back, presenting the rose to her. ''A rose for the sore loser.'' I said with a grin.

''Truly a charmer.'' Nathalie said pulling me closer to her, kissing me.

''Ehem. If you two are done, please come with me.'' A voice said, making us break up the kiss and turn around. ''My names Pete, I'm your new CO, since the board doesn't trust a twenty year old with zero training on leading a huge organisation like this one.'' The man behind us said with a heavy British accent.

''Well that's a mood killer.'' I said as Nathalie and I parted. ''Hi, Mark O'Neill, fastest man alive.'' I said holding out my hand to shake Pete's. He looked at my hand with a frown before shaking it slowly.

''How quaint.'' He said looking down at my hand.

''Excuse my boyfriend's stupid jokes, first impression am I right?'' Nathalie said nervously pushing me aside, ready to shake Pete's hand. ''My name is Nathalie no need for formalities, you seem in a hurry. What seems to be the problem?'' Nathalie asked as Pete shook her hand.

''You seem like the more reasonable person in the relationship.'' Pete said motioning us to follow him inside. ''We don't have much time to prevent Viktor's next move, so hurry up so you can get acquainted with captain Cooper and his squad.'' Pete explained.

''So the meeting room?'' I asked, looking the other way. ''And what's this about 'Viktor's next move'?'' I asked hastily.

''Actually there's no time for that, there's a helicopter transport waiting on you two.'' Pete said walking through a large pair of doors, leading us outside again, walking up to a helicopter. ''Well there's your transport, have a good flight and good hunting.'' Pete said with his hands behind his back. ''We'll be in touch, milady.'' He said giving Nathalie a formal bow, making her giggle.

''I don't like this guy.'' I whispered to Nathalie as we walked into the helicopter.

''Well you'll just have to suck it up and deal with it, he seems like a nice guy, well-mannered too.'' Nathalie whispered back before looking forward, her face a bit flushed as she received multiple glances from the soldiers waiting inside.

''Great now that we're all here, we can take off.'' A man with a bandana around his neck and a headset around his neck said. ''Name's Cooper, leader of the Ghost squad.'' He said shaking my hand. ''I've heard a lot about you two, hell my kids won't shut up about you two.'' He said crossing his arms. ''It's an honor.''

''The honors all ours, captain.'' Nathalie said shaking his hand before grabbing onto something for support. ''What was that?''

''That would be our ride taking us to our flight to Germany.'' Cooper explained.

''What!?'' Nathalie and I asked in unison. ''Germany!?''

''That's right, thank you captain.'' Pete said interrupting him. ''From the information agent Ekko acquired we pulled a special frequency that could potentially help us figure out positions of large Battlecast construction sites.'' Pete explained as his face was displayed on a small screen inside the helicopter.

''Wait! What did Damian do?'' Nathalie asked surprised at the comment. ''When did he get involved?'' She asked worried about Damian.

''Agent Ekko was called apon, roughly six hours ago. He is about to return at the base for a medical checkup as he has suffered some minor injuries and poisoning if I remember correctly.'' Pete calmly answered, infuriating Nathalie.

''He's just a kid! How can you be so stupid as to send a fifteen year old, on his own, into such a dangerous situation! Who knows what he could have run into!? WHAT IF VIKTOR WAS THERE WAITING!? You might be commanding but Mark is still Strike-commander and he didn't authorize this!'' Nathalie snapped at the screen.

''Miss Nathalie, I beg you to calm down, agent Ekko's status is perfectly fine and he performed above expectations, this has to be your doing, and one more thing, the boy is sixteen years old, not fifteen.'' Pete said trying to calm Nathalie down.

''He's still our responsibility! We swore to keep him safe!'' Nathalie was about to snap again, when I put my hand on her shoulder, pulling her away from the small display.

''Calm down tigress, your little cub is fine.'' I said pulling her into her seat, making her huff before crouching In front of her. ''You need to understand that he can do fine on his own. We'll read the report later and we'll talk this out with Pete and Damian.'' I said calming Nathalie down a bit.

''Thank you Markus, now as I was saying the frequency picked something up, lurking around the Main, the waters of Germany.'' Pete explained. ''So ofcourse we started monitoring the waters, and what do you know? A construction going on just outside of Frankfurt, creating a Battlecast.''

''So there's a Battlecast being built outside one of Germany's largest cities?'' Cooper asked. ''What do we know about this thing?''

''More information and details on the model are already being loaded into your specialized cargo plane, captain, you could almost call it a base in the air.'' Pete said. ''I'll be in touch.'' Pete said as the display in the helicopter turned off.

After our small briefing on the situation and Nathalie's outburst, there was an awkward silence in the helicopter which lasted for almost twenty minutes. Nathalie was still trying to calm down as the soldiers mostly chatted, or whispered about us with one another or were either busy inspected their gear. Nathalie was taking long deep breaths through her nose, extremely upset that we weren't filled in on Damian's operation, it took her a while to calm down before speaking up again.

''I can't believe Damian would just agree on going alone on such a dangerous mission.'' Nathalie said sitting next to me. ''I have to say, I respect his eagerness though, eager but stupid.'' She said, managing a small smile.

''I know right, he's getting the hang of his abilities.'' Leona said, her voice coming from Nathalie's phone. ''What? No crazy reactions? C'mon you guys, a random voice out of nowhere!'' Leona said trying to toy with the soldiers.

''We read your files, we know what to expect.'' One of the soldiers said.

''Well that sucks.'' Leona said. ''And here I thought I could have some fun.''

''We got no time for fun and games, we got a plane to catch!'' Cooper said getting up as the helicopter touched down on the ground. ''Ghosts move out!'' He ordered his men as they got up and ran onto the airstrip.

''Where are we?'' Nathalie, Yi, Leona and I asked all in awe at the large amounts of military jets and planes.

''Just an air force base, nothing special.'' Cooper said walking up to a huge cargo plane. ''Now this is something special, this baby was modified for all our needs, a mobile armory, accommodations, hell even a small med bay.'' He said as the three of us walked into the plane. ''Make yourselves comfortable we'll be in Germany in six hours thanks to your genius friend and her idea's.'' Cooper said.

 _This is going to be amazing…_

* * *

''All the Battlecasts made it off the island before the factory got destroyed?'' Viktor asked, walking around me almost like a wild animal stalking its pray.

''Yes master.'' I said nervously.

''Good, and what about the boy? How much did he get?'' Viktor asked stopping in front of me. ''Answer me!''

''All… All of it, master.'' I said looking down to the ground, ashamed of myself.

''Hmmm, it could be worse I suppose.'' Viktor said taking a seat on his throne. ''Atleast tell me the boy is dead.''

''No master, he had backup… he got away.'' I answered, my eyes glued to the ground.

''Disappointing, I expect better of you next time.'' Viktor said waving me off with a bored tone. ''Leave.''

''Y-yes master.'' I said bowing before swiftly walking up the staircase, towards my room.

''And one more thing.'' Viktor said right before I reached the end of the staircase. ''Another slip up like this and I will have her killed, she is expendable after all.'' He said typing in some things on a holographic menu.

Anxiety hit me as I nearly ran into the wing of the castle that was reserved for me and the other girl. Although we hadn't known eachother for long it felt like we had for years. A bond like sisters.

''You're back!'' The young girl said hugging my slim form. ''What did Viktor say? About the factory loss?'' She asked afraid.

''Easy there squirt.'' I said pulling her off of me. ''And don't call master that, he doesn't like it, we need to know our place.'' I said sitting myself onto my bed, the girl sitting behind me, starting to play around with my long white hair before starting to brush it.

''I know. He doesn't like me at all, but that's ok.'' She said, carefully taking care of my hair. ''He says I'm a failure, because I'm too young and fragile.'' She began degrading herself. ''He only likes you, you're perfect in every way, like he designed you to be.''

''That's not true, master doesn't like me either.'' I said grabbing the young girl's arms. ''He would only like us if we were of metal, like him.'' I explained to the young girl.

''But why? You have metal parts? Shouldn't he like you then?'' The girl said trying to get her hands loose from my grasp.

''That's not how it goes with him… Not to mention that I only have metal parts when I fuse. That isn't the real me.'' I explained to the girl, holding her in my arms, laying down on my bed.

''Maybe once I get the hang of my abilities… Maybe then he'll start to like me, maybe even love me as a father…'' The girl said relaxing. ''Can I go now? I want to try and train a bit more.''

''Like hell you are, it's late and you need your rest.'' I said coldly while holding the girl in place.

''Let go of me! I'm not tired yet!'' She said squirming in my grasp before realizing it was no use to fight it.

''Shhhh, little snow flower, this is the only way I can get my rest.'' I whispered while stroking her short black hair, before falling asleep unprepared for the nightmares ahead.

* * *

 **Aaaaaay! What's up my peeps, Emerald here, kicking off season 2 with the first chapter of season 2! (Durr) We're starting with introducing a ton of new people to meet! Don't worry we'll see more of all of them soon. I hope it wasn't too messy, I can be rather 'all over the place'…**

 **What's going to happen in Germany? How's Damian doing? What kind of Battlecast is being constructed in Germany? And who are these girls with Viktor!? IS IT PART OF PHASE TWO!? Who knows? Me, HA. Sorry… I tend to get carried away.**

 **The Discord channel has been booming lately! Thank you guys for joining! For those who are still thinking of joining… Well you know the drill! You can enter the Discord channel by typing in: discord dot gg /BWpaKr9**

 **Seriously there's a lot of people in the channel! We're building a freaking community here people, itz crazay and I love it! Just remember to be respectful to others and don't be racist and we can all have a good time k? We got multiple authors in the channel, just dying to answer any questions you have for them! And a lot of other readers who are super fun to be around, so come join us for even more fun!**

 **Also thank you all so much to everyone who recently followed, favorited and reviewed! Especially the reviews are great, they fuel me to write even more! I hope everyone has a great time reading and stick with me for more action and all that good stuff!**

 **It's almost summer vaca so I'll have more time to work on the fic, but I will be in the states for three weeks, don't worry I'll still write! So I hope to see you guys in the next chapter!**

 **Until the next chapter,**

 **Emerald out!**


	24. Chapter 24

PROJECT Earth

Chapter 24: Troubles in Frankfurt

Cooper wasn't lying when he said that the plane was something special. It really was a small base of operations if we needed it to be. The plane was a bit on the plain side, although it still looked extremely luxurious with the couch and coffee table, seats plus a giant flat screen television build into the wall, creating a living room aura inside the plane, the only thing missing was a fireplace, but c'mon we're on a plane, who needs a fireplace?

There were small rooms on the lower deck of the plane, meant for the soldier in Coopers squad and a special room on the upper deck for me and Nathalie, designed for two people and with a lot more space compared to the soldier' rooms.

For the last five or so hours Nathalie and I had been sitting in the living room area of the plane, talking with Cooper who left after a while because he had to brief his squad on the Battlecast, we'd be fighting. Nathalie and I were busy going over our own battle plan aswell, although we we're fighting alongside Cooper and his specialists, we're still the ones that have to deal with the Battlecasts.

''All I'm saying is that if you want to try that stupid idea of yours, you're going to end up getting hurt again.'' Nathalie said annoyed. ''We've only made it work once in a simulation, the power of the Eclipse detonation is too much for you to handle.'' She said with a worried look. ''Just trust me on this one, if we go through with your plan, you will get hurt.''

''Yeah, but this isn't like the small targets, we're talking about a ginormous Battlecast Cho'Gath here.'' I said spreading my arms, trying to show her how big this machine was going to be. ''And I never said it was going to be safe.'' I said supporting my head with my hand. ''There's always someone getting hurt.''

''Ugh, fine have it your way, get yourself hurt! See if I care!'' Nathalie snapped at me. ''Maybe it'll take three near death experiences to make you see!''

''What the hell is that supposed to mean!? I'm just trying to work out a strategy with you! I give my thought once and you start pulling the 'You'll get hurt' card…'' I said looking her in the eyes. ''It's a last resort honey, not an opening move.'' I said hoping to calm her down.

''Seriously, sometimes I'm not sure what's going on inside that head of yours.'' Nathalie said getting up from the couch, walking towards the room we shared on the plane.

''Where are you going!? We haven't decided on a plan yet!'' I said angrily. ''We aren't done here yet!''

''I am. If you want to figure out another battle plan, do it by yourself.'' Nathalie said walking off. ''I'm going to change, this suit is way to tight.'' She said unzipping part of her motorcycle outfit before closing the door to our room behind her.

''Seriously? What the hell was that all about?'' I said huffing, trying to get as much steam out of my system as I could. ''Yi, was it something I said?'' I asked still staring at the closed door with an angry look on my face.

''Ofcourse it was something you said.'' Yi said calmly. ''Mark, she just wants you to remain uninjured, the last time was a bit of a close call, you even had me worried.'' Yi said chuckling.

''I never thought about it that way…'' I said thinking back two months. ''Still, things have been a bit tense between us for the last few days.'' I said taking a deep breath.

''Mark, you do know most of your arguments and fights occur because you either make her snap with a rude comment or you just snap for no reason.'' Yi explained with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

''Well… You try doing all the paperwork! I've been tasked with so much! Seriously, I almost had to pull a double all-nighter to submit everything in time!'' I said trying to defend my outbursts.

''See? I just pressured you a bit and you're already defending yourself over nothing.'' Yi said making me think about my actions. ''You shouldn't be apologizing to me, but to Nathalie and Leona, they are the ones who are dealing with most of your outbursts.''

''You know, I'm kind of glad that Pete guy was send to take over a big part of my job. On the other hand, I can't stand the guy already. But if he's going to take over a bit of paperwork, maybe just maybe, I'll be able to make it up to Nathalie.'' I said getting up from the couch, getting ready to apologize to Nathalie.

''That's the spirit.'' Yi said happy to hear I was getting over my stubbornness.

I hesitantly knocked on the door of the small room, getting no response. I waited a moment and knocked again. ''Nath, you there? C'mon don't be like that.'' I said putting my hands in my pockets.

''Ofcourse I'm in here you idiot, where else would I be?'' Nathalie said opening the door to the room, letting me in.

Nathalie was wearing a white and black tank top and a pair of mini shorts with a part of the under armor sticking out from underneath her shorts, clinging to her well-kept legs. _Damn, she was wearing that underneath that tight suit? She looks good… Wait! Don't get sidetracked for once! She's pissed off for a reason…_

''Judging by the way you're looking at me, I'd say you have something to tell me?'' She asked sitting down on the bed, petting the spot next to her, motioning me to sit down next to her.

I complied and awkwardly sat next to her, looking down at the ground before speaking up. ''Yeah, I… eh… I'm sorry for being such a dick lately. I'm stressed out that's all.'' I said apologizing to Nathalie. ''I've just been trying to get everything to work out for everyone. The paperwork just isn't my thing.''

''So I've noticed.'' Nathalie said sarcastically. ''Mark, I don't mind it if you're grumpy once in a while, I mean look at me I have a short fuse aswell, but I do mind it when you start making bad decisions. Decisions that will get you hurt.'' Nathalie explained.

''I know you want to keep me safe and all but that's not the way our jobs work, the lives of others take priority over our own.'' I said grabbing one of her hands and holding it. ''It's our duty to stop Viktor, it's a tough one, but I know we can do it.'' I said giving her a weak smile. ''You, me, Damian and everyone behind us.''

''I'm just afraid that one day, I'm going to come home… look around and realize you're not there anymore, and with the choices you make sometimes… I just… see that thought becoming reality…'' Nathalie said taking off the ring I gave her a month ago, storing it inside a small box and putting it on the nightstand. ''Mark I think we need to-'' Nathalie was cut off by Cooper opening the door to our room.

''Wow, excuse me for barging in like that, but I need you two to gear up, there's been a change of plans.'' He said sounding out of breath. ''That giant thing started moving.'' Cooper said on his way down the stairs to the lower deck of the plane.

''How bad is it?'' Nathalie asked, a few steps behind Cooper. ''Captain, I need you to answer me.'' Nathalie said sounding anxious.

''It walked into the Main nearing Frankfurt, we won't make it in time.'' Cooper explained. ''The German army is notified and are waiting for it to attack. Every second that we're not down there fighting this thing is another body bag being filled.'' Cooper said reaching the armory.

''How much time do we have until Cho'Gath reaches the city?'' I said throwing some of my clothes aside, revealing the specially designed under armor.

''The Battlecast will probably hit Frankfurt in about five minutes, we will be flying over Frankfurt in ten minutes.'' Cooper said readying a gun.

''That's a lot of dead bodies…'' I said fusing with Yi.

''Can't we drop Mark early? He can hold off Cho on his own. He travels faster on the ground.'' Nathalie said, trying to come up with a solution. ''I mean that's the best we can do right now, right?'' Nathalie said fusing with Leona after putting aside most of her clothing aswell.

''I can't risk getting you two split up. We need you two to fight together, if something were to happen to Mark because we weren't there in time, everything goes to shit. It will be ten times worse than the airport that got hit.'' Cooper said coldly, making Nathalie look at me for an answer.

''He's right.'' I said agreeing with Cooper. ''You said it yourself, Nath. I need to be more careful, so I'll have to be patient this time.'' I said looking her way. ''We'll get this done as a team.'' I noticed a small satisfied smile making its way across her face.

''Captain, we're nearing the dropzone, we need to get to the lowest deck, so we can close up the armory and the med bay, asap.'' One of the soldiers said as Cooper followed him, motioning us to follow.

We walked down another set of stairs, reaching the cargo hatch of the plane. Cooper walked towards a set of parachutes and started putting one on. ''I'm glad you're finally listening to me.'' Nathalie said quickly pulling me aside, trying to give me a awkward peck on the helmet, which failed due to her headgear being in the way, making us both laugh a bit.

''Hey lovebirds, I got special chutes for you two.'' Cooper said walking up with two marked bags, one with a orange design and one with a yellow design. ''These should hold the weight of the armor, making it safe for you two to jump.'' He said handing us the bags before turning to his squad. ''Ok people, two minutes till the drop.'' Cooper said clapping his hands.

''Captain we have a situation.'' Pete's voice said coming from a small screen inside the cargo space. ''The Battlecast has already hit dry land, it's wreaking havoc as we speak. Our calculations we're off.'' Pete explained hurried. ''With that we change our plans, you will not drop near the Battlecast, you will set up a safe zone eight blocks from where the Battlecast is right now. Agents Yi and Leona, you two will keep the Battlecast from reaching that zone. That's an order.'' The message stopped playing on the screen as the Cargo hatch slowly opened, revealing a sunny, cloudless sky.

''Yes sir, thank you sir.'' Cooper said with a grim tone in his voice.

With his short message delivered, Pete's face disappeared from the screen and started to show German news about the attack. While looking at the destruction left behind by Cho'Gath I started getting flashbacks to that night, the night were I lost so much… I imagined my own situation, but for hundreds of people, losing a loved one or even more… Getting injured beyond recovery… The thoughts lighting a spark of anger inside me.

''Cooper you can't be seriously considering this!?'' I said raising my hands. ''Setting up eight blocks from where that thing is attacking!? You know how many lives will be lost!?'' I yelled as Nathalie took my parachute away from me. ''What are you doing, Nath?'' I asked in confusion.

''I'm just making sure you don't do anything stupid.'' She said holding onto the small package.

''I'm sorry but I can't disobey a direct order from my CO.'' Cooper said letting out a huff. ''There is nothing more I can do, there simply isn't.''

'' _Yi this isn't ok. Hundreds of people are going to die…''_ I said mentally. _''Don't tell me you're agreeing with them aswell.''_

'' _I certainly am not, but I don't agree with the thoughts flying around your mind right now either.''_ Yi said calmly _. ''This will get you into a lot of trouble, are you sure you want to try and do this? You just promised Nathalie you wouldn't.''_

'' _Technically I didn't promise anything… yet.''_ I said earning a sigh from Yi. _''Do you think we can make this plan work? It could safe hundreds of lives.''_ I asked, trying to talk Yi into it.

'' _Yes, we can make the plan work that way... But you will take the blame for this one!''_ Yi said. _''My ability to lock the armor might have… malfunctioned.''_ Yi said cheekily.

'' _I knew I could count on you, thanks buddy.''_ I said with a smile.

''Mark why don't wait here for a moment, while I go talk to Cooper about the situation.'' Nathalie said motioning me to sit down on one of the crates strapped inside the cargo space before turning to Cooper, starting to talk to him.

''Are you sure taking his chute away will keep him on the plane long enough?'' Cooper asked Nathalie as I slowly got up, looking at the screen to see how close we were to Battlecast Cho'Gath model.

''I'm sure he won't try a thing, even he knows he won't survive a jump from this height.'' I heard Nathalie say.

''So does this mean were flying over the attacking Battlecast right now?'' I asked a soldier who was busy leaning against a cargo crate.

''Yup, the red ping is that thing, and the blue one is us.'' The soldier explained as the two pins connected on the radar.

''Thanks that's all I needed to know.'' I said walking pass Nathalie and Cooper, nearing the edge of the hatch, which lucky me, hadn't closed yet. ''NathalieI'msorryloveyoupleaseforgivemebye!'' I yelled before jumping out of the plane.

* * *

''He's crazier than I thought.'' Cooper said looking pass me wide-eyed.

''Let me guess, no one bothered to close the hatch?'' I asked, my back still turned to the open hatch.

''Yup.'' Cooper said nonchalantly.

''And he just walked pass all of us?'' I asked again, this time making it clearer that I was losing my temper.

''Yup.'' Cooper said again.

''And he just jumped out without a parachute didn't he?'' I asked one last question, ready to explode.

''Yup.'' Cooper said looking down towards the city.

''He better survive that fall, because I am going to kill him myself when this is over.'' I said calmly.

''You seem awfully calm.'' Cooper said crossing his arms.

''Oh he's going to wish that I let it all out over here.'' I said kicking against a cargo crate with full force, creating a dent in the metal crate.

 _Is it that hard to just listen to me once?_

* * *

''MZS, test number 285 commencing.'' Camille's voice rang through the lab as I took out the specially designed gauntlets. ''MZS systems rebooting, link established. Disabling safety locks.''

I raised one of the gauntlets, hoping the mechanical arm would do the same. After a second of nothing the arm started moving into the same direction, bringing a smile to my face. ''Oh. My. God!'' I yelled. ''Camille take notes, recalibrate the controls.'' I ordered as I started to raise the other gauntlet.

''Shall I add test number 285 to the 'success' list?'' Camille asked as I started thinking about it, scratching behind my head, making the mechanical arms do the same.

''Hahahaha, oh my.'' I said as the arms mimicked everything I did.'' Yes, Camille. Add this one to the success list.''

''Adding something to that giant list of successes? I better be on top of the list, doc.'' A familiar voice said, coming into the lab.

''Alisha! It's been so long!'' I said running up to her and embracing her. ''How have you been? Did your time off help with the whole memory loss?''

''I can't say it has.'' Alisha said, letting out a sigh. ''All I remember is that I don't want to go back to what I used to do. I just want things to go back the way they were.'' She said, looking me in the eyes.

''What do you mean by that?'' I asked, a hint of uncertainty in my voice.

''Angie, I want you back.'' Alisha said with saddened eyes. ''That is if you want the same, look I don't know what happened in the past months but I keep feeling lonely and I just know it's my fault.''

''Well we did have some pretty nasty fights…'' I said. ''But we worked it out in the end. Let's just give it some time and we'll see where it goes from there.''

''Is that a yes?'' Alisha asked giving me a half smile.

''We'll figure out a date for a night out or something.'' I said letting out a huff. ''Why did you come here in the first place? I'm sure you didn't go through all this trouble just to ask me out all over again.''

''Right as always.'' Alisha said taking a seat on one of the chairs inside the lab. ''I was looking for my baby brother, and since he went out on a mission I was certain you would know more.'' Alisha said with a worried face.

''Yeah, I'm not sure if you want to know the details…'' I said not meeting her worried gaze. Alisha gave me a serious look, almost looking angry with me. ''Fine, fine. He should be back anytime now, he needs a medical checkup, something about him getting poisoned.''

''How did he get poisoned? I don't recall something like that happening to me…'' Alisha said trying her hardest to remember. ''Times sure do change fast.''

''They sure do.'' I said picking up the gauntlets and turning them off. ''Camille, please re-enable safety locks and break the link.''

''Already on it ma'am'' Camille said as the mechanical arms dropped lifeless and the gauntlets lights turned off aswell.

''What are you working on anyway?'' Alisha said inspecting the huge mechanical arms.

''It's one of the many things Pete has been asking for. Damian was successful in his mission and secured a lot of data, a few of the blueprints are actually buildable.'' I explained to Alisha, who was listening while still inspecting the mechanical arms.

''So ofcourse you have to build it all.'' She said turning back to me.

''Yep, this one is going to be my finest work yet. With a few adjustments to the original blueprints, I can turn this thing into a fully functional weapon.'' I said proudly.

''But don't we have Damian and the others? Why do we need more weapons?'' Alisha asked. ''I mean it's not like they're going to turn on us, they're all just human beings after all.'' She added laughing a bit.

''That's exactly the reason why Pete wants these weapons build. A person like Mark is just too unpredictable, his words not mine! I fully trust him and Nathalie!'' I said raising my hands in defense. ''And I've known Damian for years so I know he can be trusted aswell!''

''So this new guy doesn't trusts his own employees? Maybe I should take over again.'' Alisha said, giving me a seductive look. ''It might also help you get some more free time.''

''Oh hush you, Pete is an ok guy. He just doesn't know Mark and Nathalie that well.'' I said avoiding the look Alisha was giving me. ''I-I'm sure he'll come to his senses eventually.''

''Ma'am a transport has just touched down, they're bringing in Damian as we speak.'' Camille said interrupting our conversation, making us both shoot up. ''Your assistance is required in the medical bay.''

''Tell them I'm on my way.'' I said putting on my lab coat before walking out of the lab. ''Alisha you coming or what?''

''I'm right behind you, show me the way.'' She said giving me a worried look.

* * *

''BIO FILTH! FEAR MY SHADOW!'' Cho'Gath roared firing one of his cannons, destroying almost half of a church in the middle of a small shopping district. ''ALL RESISTANCE WILL BE OBLITERATED!'' He said knocking over a bus, which was trying to escape the destruction the giant Battlecast was creating.

''I can hear that damn thing yelling all the way up here.'' I said to Yi as we got closer to our target. ''C'mon talk to me! You're making me nervous.'' I said with a grin.

''Mark if you wouldn't mind being quiet for one moment, I'm the one doing all the calculations and if I miscalculate by one number, we'll end up like pancakes splattered all over the floor! So please, be quiet.'' Yi said nervously.

''Got it! Say you're sure that using Alpha Strike will break the fall right?'' I asked as Cho'Gath got closer and closer.

''What did I just say?'' Yi said annoyed.

''I'm sure you've already finished your calculations, just say when.''

''PROJECT ARMOR DETECTED!'' The Battlecast roared, aiming is missile launchers upwards.

''I didn't calculate that happening…'' Yi laughed nervously. ''Not to worry, the missiles are short range, so we have nothing to worry about.''

''FIRING!'' Cho'Gath roared as a set of missiles was fired our way.

''Wait for my signal…'' Yi said calmly.

''Those rockets are getting awfully close!'' I said panicked. ''Yi!?''

''Wait for it.'' He said strictly. ''NOW!''

I focused on the giant Battlecast, which was only a few hundred meters away at this point. I could see the missiles closing in on us aswell. _''Can't it ever be a relaxed situation, something like, 'take your time Mark, just make sure you're having fun.' Sigh…''_

The missiles exploded as I disappeared from view. As I did I struck the Battlecast four times, creating a few deep cuts in its thick armor. After the attacks I ended up behind the giant machine, which earned me a slap of its tail, the power behind the hit sending me through multiple little stands and shops.

''That's one hell of hit.'' I said getting back up from destroyed little flower stand. ''Hey! Get back here!'' I yelled, picking up my blade and chasing after Cho'Gath, as the giant machine had already shifted his attention back to the bus he knocked over a moment ago.

''ALL ORANISMS WILL BE CONSUMED!'' Cho'Gath roared as he started biting off part of the bus. My eyes went wide as he consumed a huge piece of the bus, for a moment I felt afraid, afraid for all the people on that bus. _''What if he just ate a person?''_

'' _This is no time to think about that now! GO! Stop him!''_ Yi's voice rang through my head. _''Save as many as you can! Like I taught you!''_

''Right!'' I said nodding as I neared the Battlecast. _This would be so much easier if Nathalie was here…_

As Cho'Gath got ready to chow down on another part of the bus, I threw my blade into its back, using the Overdrive to add an extra punch to the hit. The giant staggered forward as the blade penetrated the heavy armor. After a moment I recalled my blade, catching it out of mid-air and taking a battle ready stance.

''PROJECT SCUM!'' The Battlecast monstrosity roared as he turned around activating his boom boxes, imitating a Feral Scream, the power of the soundwaves forcing me to plant my blade into the ground and holding on for dear life. ''AGRESSION PROTOCOL ACTIVATED!'' Cho'Gath roared, charging at me with incredible speed.

''Mark, move!'' Yi yelled as I tried to regain my composure after the power of the soundwaves nearly knocked me over. All I could hear was a sharp ringing tone as I tried to get rid of the disorienting feeling. ''MOVE! NOW!'' I heard Yi yell again.

One of the Battlecasts cannons was pointed at my face, readying to fire at me. ''Not this time! Not again!'' I said rolling away from the cannon fire before sprinting towards the destroyed bus.

''FLEE LIKE THE COWARD YOU ARE, PROJECT SCUM!'' Cho'Gath taunted. I ignored the taunts and quickly took a look inside the bus, a young couple and their daughter were still inside, the child being stuck underneath some of the interior of the bus.

 _Those two can't be much older than me and Nathalie…_

''Help us! Bitte!'' One of the parents yelled in terror, reaching towards me. I looked over my shoulder, towards the advancing Battlecast, trying to come up with a solution.

''Try to get her out! I'll try to hold that thing off for as long as I can!'' I said looking back at the couple, trying to get their child to safety. _Dammit!_

''SHOW YOURSELF PROJECT SCUM!'' Cho'Gath Roared as he searched for me.

''Hey ugly! Over here!'' I said jumping on top of the destroyed bus, successfully getting the machine's attention. ''Catch!'' I yelled as I threw my blade into the machine's left eye socket, destroying one of the red lights with a small explosion coming from the now destroyed left eye.

''RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! FILYHY ORGANIC! PREPARE TO BE DESTROYED!'' Cho'Gath roared in anger as he charged at the bus, his bladed canon aimed forward.

 _Didn't expect that… Crap…_

As the Battlecast neared the bus I began to overlook my options. _Either save two of the three people inside the bus… Or take the hit and hope the people get out in time…_ ''Dammit I hate making these decisions!'' I yelled as I took a few steps backwards.

''Mark what are you doing!?'' Yi yelled as I reached the front of the destroyed bus. ''Are you leaving those people to die!?'' He yelled in disbelieve.

''Never…'' I said, activating Highlander and running towards Cho'Gath, dropping my blade in the process. ''As long as I still breathe!'' I yelled as I jumped towards the giant cannon.

During the jump I felt the Overdrive activate in a new way, taking me by surprise. The armor turned back to its metal form, glowing orange as if the Overdrive was protecting me. As my body collided with the cannon the Overdrive shield exploded, knocking the Battlecast over and sending me flying back towards the bus.

''I think he's still alive! Come on get up!'' I heard a man say.

I groaned and reached for my shoulder, an immense pain shooting through it. I carefully opened my eyes and noticed the shoulder armor that took the hit from the cannon was completely destroyed, only the under armor was protecting my shoulder. ''Damn it looks like something just took a bite out of my armor…'' I said slowly rising back to my feet and trying to catch my breath.

''Thank you for saving us.'' I heard a woman say. I turned around and was met with a large group of people. _Most likely from the bus…_ I smiled at the group of people and gave them an awkward thumbs up. A few people looked up in fear as a shadow towered over all of us, making me turn around.

''You've got to be kidding me!'' I yelled as I looked at Cho'Gath, slowly getting back up.

''FILTHY-THY-THY O-O-O-ORANI-I-I-C-S-S-S-S, THAT IS-IS-IS MY SHAD-D-D-DOW!'' The damaged Battlecast roared as it got back up from the ground. The cannon that took the impact of the explosion was torn in half and by the sound of it its motherboard is damaged aswell.

''Everyone get ready to run!'' I told the crowd as they began to run away from the giant machine. ''Great, now that just leaves us with one giant problem.'' I said holding my shoulder in pain.

''P-P-PREP-A-A-ARE TO BE-E-E-E DESTRO-OY-OY-OYED'' The Battlecast roared as he made his way towards me, his giant set of teeth getting closer to me.

 _Well… this is it… I disobeyed orders, pissed Nathalie off to the point of her probably breaking up with me, got hurt and I'm going to die… Sigh. This day can't get any better._ I closed my eyes as Cho'Gath got ready to eat me.

''MAAAAAAAAAAAAARK YOUUUUUU DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICK!'' I heard yelling coming from above me and quickly looked into the direction Cho'Gath was looking.

Up in the air was a yellow figure on a parachute, slowly making its way down towards the ground. I let out a sigh of relief as I watched Nathalie cut herself loose from the parachute. I couldn't help but smile at all the swearing I could make out as she activated Eclipse and fell down towards Cho'Gath's head.

''NEW-EW-W-W P-P-PRO-J-JECT SCU-M-M-M DETEC-EC-ECT-ED! FIRE!'' Cho'Gath roared as he fired all his remaining missiles into the air, creating a giant black smoke screen in the air as all the missiles exploded near Nathalie and Leona.

After a moment of nothing falling out of the air, I began to worry. _No, no, no, no! NATH!_ Before I could even start to scream a beam of solar energy fired down from the sky, straight through Cho'Gath's body, locking him in place.

''Die you son of a bitch!'' Nathalie roared as she spun in the air, striking the giants still functioning part of its head. The empowered attack from her blade slowed down her way to the ground and left a deep cut running through the Battlecast's head.

''Nath! Over here!'' I yelled as she landed safely on her feet. I could feel her glare now pointed at me, making me gulp loudly.

''You idiot! What happened to you!?'' She asked with a hint of worry, as she supported my body.

''I'm fine, honestly.'' I said, leaning on my blade. ''It's great to finally have you here.''

''What can I say? Someone has to look after your dumbass, right?'' She said with a smirk. ''So what's the plan?''

''I was thinking we tried it just one more time. Believe in me this time.'' I said walking backwards. ''I got this!''

''COM-M-M-ME BA-A-A-ACK HER-E-E-E PRO-PRO-PROJECT SC-C-C-UM!'' Cho'Gath roared as the stun from the Solar Flare started to wear off. The giant moved his head forward and let his cannons hang like they were completely useless, ready to consume anything that stood in its way. _The damage from the Solar Flare must have knocked out his weapons systems, nice!_

''You better have this, if you don't you'll probably end up in that things jaws.'' Nathalie said annoyed as she dropped to one knee, putting her shield against her side and activating Eclipse and Eclipse Shield, enlarging the shield, creating a jump pad for me. ''You got one shot at this!''

''You don't have to tell me twice honey!'' I yelled as I activated Highlander, making the armor lighter and my blade larger. _Alright no pressure. Just like every other time, just do or die…_ ''Alright! Straight through the head!'' I told myself before running at Nathalie's crouched form.

''W-W-WALKIN-G-G-G INT-T-TO MY MOU-T-TH. YOU DES-SER-SERVE TO D-D-D-IE!'' The Battlecast mocked as he readied to swallow me whole.

''Your window is closing Mark! Hurry!'' Nathalie yelled as I noticed the Eclipse nearing its detonation.

 _Wait for it… Wait for it… NOW!_ I ran as fast as I could. Right before walking into Nathalie's shield, I put one of my feet against the shield and pushed myself into the air. The small explosion of Nathalie's shield giving me an additional boost, sending me flying into Cho'Gath.

 ***CLANG***

The giants teeth slammed shut, nearly taking off one of my feet in the process. The inside of Cho'Gath's mouth was disgusting. Stray metal pieces from the bus and debris from buildings he had been snacking on were all around his mouth. That's all from what I could make out from the split second that I was inside the machine's mouth.

During this time, I also readied Wuju Style and pressed my blade forward, cutting straight through the metal of Cho'Gath's head before flying out of the new hole I made in his head.

''Nath we got a problem.'' I said over the coms.

''And what's that?'' She asked bored. ''What could we have possibly forgotten?''

''I suck at landings.'' I said flailing wildly as I hit the back of the giant Battlecast and rolled down as the giant machine fell towards the ground. ''Ouch, ouch, dammit, ouch, fuuuuu''

As I fell off the giants back I lay down on the ground, my eyes pointed at the sky, breathing heavily. All I could hear were a few footsteps coming my way.

''Hey, get up idiot.'' Nathalie said, her head blocking out the sun.

''Five more minutes.'' I groaned as I closed my eyes. ''I need a moment.'' I said closing my eyes.

''Fine.'' I heard Nathalie sigh. ''But don't think that I'm not mad at you for the shit that you pulled.'' I felt her laying down next to me before I drifted off.

 _Everything is going to be fine…_

* * *

 **Well… that took longer than expected :Thinking:. I mean what? I mean AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY! what's up my peeps! How's ya'll doing? Ok be honest with me was that too much? I think it was too much. I'll just stick with the 'how's everyone doing?', the ''Ya'll'' just doesn't do it for me…**

 **Anywayyyy, Emerald back with another, waaaaaaaaaaay to late chapter of PROJECT: Earth. I should have worked way harder on this chapter, but in the end things came up and so did the sun. So I just couldn't resist enjoying it. Ok no more excuses, I got lazy ok? But now that I have summer vacation everything is going to be fiiiiiiiine. Probably, hehe.**

 **I can just hear you think: ''What the hell is he talking about?''**

 **Well let me tell you. I'm gonna be in the States for three weeks, which means that I won't have that much time to write. Any spare time I have will most likely go towards the discord and writing so have no fear! I'm still going to write! There's still so much I want to get done for both PE and AAT!**

 **Wait did I just mention the Discord server? Hell yeah I did! Advertisement time! (It's just going to be copy pasted because it's 2am and I'm tired, ok? Next time I'll make sure to add some new stuff to it.)**

 **Thanks to all you guys that joined! For those who are still thinking of joining… Well you know the drill! You can enter the Discord channel by typing in: discord dot gg /BWpaKr9**

 **Just remember to be respectful towards others and don't be racist so we can all have a good time, k? It's seriously a blast in the server right now with all the peeps that just keep coming and coming! So what are you waiting for? Come join us! Tell your fanfic loving friends and let's have some fun together! No need for hesitation!**

 **Now before I go and leave you guys to wait for another god awful period of time, I just want to apologize to all the readers of this fic. I've posted An Angels Thief three(?) weeks ago and it has been exploding with love from its readers, so I wanted to treat them a little bit, since well… The fic has already passed this one in followers and favorites and tbh sometimes I have a bit more fun writing my other story… This doesn't mean that I'll drop PE, but after reaching a certain milestone in this story, I will put it on hiatus for a while. If I'll reach that milestone is still unclear but we'll see once I get there. So from the bottom of my heart, sorry for leaving you guys hanging for such a long time.**

 **Anyway, thank you guys so much for sticking with me on this huge journey and believe me we're far from done! I won't give up on this story my lovelies I PROMISE! I will see you guys in the next chapter!**

 **Until next time! Emerald out!**


	25. Chapter 25

PROJECT: Earth

Chapter 25: The main event

''Please don't be too harsh on him, he did what he thought was best.'' I heard Yi argue as I reached for my shoulder, groaning all the same.

''Ugh… What happened?'' I asked, shaking my head. ''I remember falling down Cho'Gath's back but that's it.''

'''Well like you said, you fell down and probably hit your head resulting in you passing out.'' Nathalie said, sitting up.

''But why are you lying next to me? Did something happen after I passed out?'' I asked alarmed. ''Please tell me you didn't get hurt!''

''Nah, I just thought I'd lie down next to you so it wouldn't look to weird.'' She said with a smile. ''And now that you're up, I can check your shoulder out.'' Nathalie said, starting to poke around the damaged part of my armor. ''How did this happen?''

''Ouch! Hey, careful!'' I yelled, nearly slapping her hand away. ''I eh… might have tackled Cho'Gath to keep him away from the bus.'' I said laughing nervously. ''It's a long story.'' I said as Nathalie gave me a confused look.

''Well… What are you waiting for? We're stuck here until further notice anyway.'' Nathalie said unamused. ''The cleanup crew is on the way.''

''Cleanup? For what?'' I asked taking a look around, noticing the giant metallic carcass behind us. ''Ah, right. Cho'Gath… Hehe…''

''I think that concussion is worse than I thought.'' Nathalie said, pulling off my helmet from my head. ''Yep just like I thought, you're bleeding.'' Nathalie said, inspecting my head wound. ''Hmmm, nothing too serious. I'll just clean it up and we'll see afterward'' She took out a small bag with medical supplies and began dipping a piece of cloth with alcohol.

''Hey where did you get that?'' I asked, pointing at the small bag medicine bag.

''It's packed with the parachute, well underneath it of course.'' Nathalie explained, inspecting her handy work. ''That will last you until we get back home. Now, how about you tell me what happened here.'' She demanded with an annoyed face.

''Fine, fine. It was the Overdrive.'' I said calmly. ''It more or less shielded me as I went in to tackle the Battlecast, protecting three people.''

''So you're still developing new powers after all this time? It's been almost over half a year and we still don't know what to expect from the Overdrive…'' Nathalie said deep in thought. ''Yi, Leo. Do you guys have any idea what might have triggered this new ability?''

''Not really, it might have been Mark's determination.'' Yi explained, confusing us all.

''Why's that?'' Nathalie and I asked in unison.

''It's just a thought but bear with me on this one.'' Yi said. ''The Overdrive activates whenever Mark taps into his emotions, maybe this is some new form?'' Yi said, deep in thought about his own choice of words.

''Sounds like a decent explanation to me.'' I said, trying to shrug only to be stopped by the pain in my shoulder. ''Ok, seriously? This is getting old.'' I said, sitting down to meditate.

''Cheater.'' Nathalie said under her breath.

''Is that jealousy, I hear?'' I asked as the pain in my shoulder began to die down a bit. ''Aren't you happy with the armor you have?''

''At least I'm not the one that needs constant healing.'' Nathalie said smiling at my comment.

''That doesn't really answer his question though.'' Leona said, butting into the conversation. ''Would you rather have Yi's armor over mine?'' She asked, pretending to sound hurt.

''Hell no! Can you imagine me doing things like that? I sure can't!'' Nathalie quickly said, raising her voice a little. ''I wasn't made for fighting. I'll just do my part by protecting people.''

''Atta girl.'' Leona said cheerfully as I touched down on the ground again.

''Ah, refreshing.'' I said, moving my shoulder around a bit.

''How does your shoulder feel now?'' Yi asked. ''You have been Improving your abilities, maybe Meditates heal has become stronger as well.''

''Hmmm, I'm not sure on that one. My shoulder still feels a bit stiff, but that's all, the pain is completely gone.'' I said with a grin. ''You sure you don't want these powers, Nath?''

''Oh shut up!'' She said looking away in annoyance.

''What's gotten into you all of a sudden?'' I asked, noticing just how angry Nathalie was with me. ''Is this because I jumped out of the plane and disobeyed orders?''

''I should be mad about that, but no.'' Nathalie said with a sigh. ''I'm mad at you because it feels like you're not even listening to me at all.'' She said giving me a angry look.

''But I do listen to you! C'mon Nathalie! Don't be like this!'' I argued.

''Prove it! What did I say back on the plane?'' She asked, crossing her arms. ''Well? You listened, didn't you? What did I say?''

''You're afraid that I might die…'' I muttered while looking away from Nathalie's piercing gaze, earning a sharp ''What was that?'' from my girlfriend. ''You're afraid I'm going to get myself killed! Ok? I get it! I make bad choices, but please understand that we saved hundreds of lives because of my choice!'' I snapped at her as I turned to face her. ''I just don't want people to go through what I went through.'' I said as my breathing hitched.

''Mark, please.'' Nathalie said with a hurt expression.

''I don't want to watch as people lose loved ones or even their own lives. I don't want that and I will not let that happen again, not after what happened to dad.'' I said, picturing the young couple and their child. ''Someone has to stand up for them, protect them.''

''But you're not alone Mark, you seem to fail to see that every time.'' Nathalie explained with a worried look on her face. ''Lately I've been feeling like you're trying to run a solo act, like you want to get hurt. Aren't you afraid something might happen to you?'' Nathalie asked.

''I just… You know what? No! I'm not afraid!'' I said with a huff.

''What he's saying is true. He's more worried about others than himself.'' Yi said calmly. ''That might be the problem.''

''Mark, what if something happens to Nathalie because of your choices?'' Leona asked. ''Could you forgive yourself?'' Her comment took me by surprise, shocking me deeply.

 _Am I really this selfish? Am I so consumed with helping others that I forget the people I care about?_

''I… I wouldn't be able to.'' I said after a moment of silence.

''That's how Nathalie feels.'' Leona and Yi said together. ''You two really need to get on one line, find an agreement because if this keeps on going, I don't think your relationship is going to last.'' Leona explained.

''Nath is this true? Do you blame yourself whenever something happens to me?'' I carefully asked. Nathalie didn't answer, but just nodded with puffy eyes. ''Oh, Nathalie you should have told me sooner.'' I said pulling her closer to me.

''I thought being able to protect you from harm was going to be the best feeling ever.'' Nathalie said through hitched breaths. ''But there is no protecting you and I see that now.'' Nathalie said with a sad smile. ''I can't protect someone who puts himself in danger to protect others, I just can't.'' She said looking at her shield. ''God, how useless I am.''

''Hey, that's not true. You saved my life today. If it wasn't for you dropping down on top of Cho'Gath I would have been toast.'' I said pulling her out of her misery. ''Nath don't blame yourself for my injuries, those are my own mistakes! I can't have you worrying about me all the time! I need someone that has my back and someone who's back I got in return, and I know you are that person.'' I said looking her in the eyes, hoping to lighten up her mood.

''I suppose the only thing I can do from now on is follow your dumb decisions.'' Nathalie said laughing a bit. ''How does this sound, No more arguing about missions, we're both just going to roll with whatever happens BUT, you stop making decisions solo.''

''So we're making the decisions together?'' I asked, pointing a finger from her to me.

''Together.'' Nathalie confirmed with a nod. ''And no more disobeying orders.'' She quickly added.

''Do I get to think about it?''

''Nope, it's a one-time offer.''

''Jeez, you drive a hard bargain. Fine I'll have to take it.'' I said with a small smile as Nathalie and I began to laugh together.

* * *

''The Battlecast was destroyed?'' Viktor asked me as I trembled before his throne.

''Y-yes sir.'' I said nervously as my feet wouldn't stop shaking, I've never felt this nervous. Although I did what Viktor had asked me to do, he wasn't happy with the results, somehow I already expected it from the start.

''And you only observed? Am I correct?'' Viktor asked, his eyes scanning me, searching for a lie.

A moment passed as I thought about the fight I witnessed a few hours ago. _Why is it so hard to remember what happened? Is this stress? Or can't I recall what happened…_

''Well? Did you or did you not observe, like your said?'' Viktor asked getting impatient with me just standing around.

''Y-y-yes sir, t-th-that is correct. I only observed.'' I said snapping out of my little moment. ''At first the male was alone, taking quite the beating but you said-'' I was interrupted by Viktor's hand being raised.

''Did you or did you not have a clear shot at him?'' Viktor asked after relocating his hand on top of his cane. ''Your report says that you did? Why didn't you kill him?''

''I-I… I recalled you saying I was not to engage combat, sir.'' I said looking away. ''That and I… I was afraid I might screw things up…'' I said, sheepishly rubbing my arm.

''I knew it was a mistake to send you…'' Viktor said with a sigh. ''This has cleared up a lot of things for me, I know what I will have you do next, be gone.'' He said turning his back to me.

''Didn't I do good?'' I asked him, tears forming in my eyes. ''I-I-I did wh-what you asked, and this is what I get? A cold shoulder?'' I asked hiccupping, the tears streaming down my face. ''I tried so hard to make you happy, why can't you just say that I did good for once?''

''Because you didn't do what I made you for!'' Viktor yelled, firing a Death Ray at me.

Before the Death Ray could disintegrate my flesh, I felt myself being swooped off my feet and pulled aside, away from the laser. When I opened my eyes I saw my sister, holding me close to her.

''We had a deal master.'' She said. I looked at her face, she was angry with either me or with Viktor. At the moment she was glaring daggers at Viktor, but I could feel that she was also angry with me.

''That we still have.'' Viktor said recomposing himself, calming down. ''I just had to show her what happens, once your time runs out.'' He said coldly before sitting himself back down on his throne. ''Now leave before I decide that I don't need any of you any longer.''

''Yes, master.'' She said with venom in her voice while putting me back on my feet. ''Come little snow flower, we have things to discuss.'' She said, patting me on the shoulder and motioned me to follow her.

With a quick nod, I followed her out of the castle and into the courtyard. It was a warm sunny day, a bit too warm for my taste. The courtyard was bathed in light as there was nowhere to take cover in the shadows.

''Do we really have to do this outside? You know I can't stand the heat.'' I asked, grimacing a bit.

''See it as your punishment then.'' She said, her back turned to me.

''My punishment!? Viktor nearly killed me because I did what he asked me to do!?'' I yelled, raising my hands out of anger. ''Just because I didn't fight someone who could have easily beat me!''

''You were the one who provoked him! You let your emotions get the better of you! That is why you nearly died, not because you failed your task.'' She snapped at me. ''You have to understand that master will never give you what you want, he will never love us in the way you want to be loved.'' As she finished her sentence, I felt tears sting in my eyes again.

''I-I just want a home! Somewhere I am loved! I don't want all of this! I don't want to kill someone or hear this voice in my head all the time.'' I cried as she pulled me into a awkward hug. ''I just want a real life.''

I knew she wasn't used to handling situations like this but I just needed someone to listen to me, I needed someone to hear my cries, to know what I wanted and it certainly wasn't this life.

''Shhhh, little snow flower.'' She said while carefully rubbing my back. ''I know, I know what you want. You aren't like me, you are unique and I will never let anyone hurt you.''

''Not even Viktor?'' I asked through my sobs.

''Not even master.'' She confirmed with me, stroking me short black hair. ''Are you feeling better now?'' She asked letting go of my still trembling form. ''You know I'm not good with these kind of things.''

''Knowing that you'd go this far to comfort me means a lot to me.'' I said, forcing a sad smile onto my face.

''That's great, now come with me, we're going to buy some supplies for tomorrow.'' She said motioning me to follow her out of the courtyard.

''Fine…'' I said, wiping the tears from my eyes and cheeks. ''But we better get ice-cream on the way back.'' I said as my sister gave me a bored expression.

''You'll never change will you?''

* * *

''I should have you court martialed and removed from this team for what you did!'' Pete's angry voice rang through the conference room on the plane. ''You disobeyed a direct order from your superior and nearly got yourself and your squad mate killed! What do you have to say for yourself!?''

''I acted on pure instinct. Saving hundreds if not thousands of lives by disobeying orders.'' I said crossing my arms unamused.

''That's what you have been saying for the last hour and a half! Repeat it one more time and-''

''And what? Are you going to fire me? You can't do that, you just have to accept that what I did was right and your order was pure manic.'' I snapped at the little monitor in the small room. ''Your idiotic plan was to set up a safe zone miles away from the Battlecast. If I didn't jump and stopped that thing, half of Frankfurt would have been destroyed!''

''I am just following orders from my superior, if they want this plan carried out then I have no choice but to carry it out. I hope you will do the same next time Mark.'' Pete said calming down.

''So now you can be calm and collected all of a sudden?'' I asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

''We've wasted enough time here.'' Pete said getting handed a brown envelope and pulled out its contents. ''The door should be open now, you may enter.'' He said calmly as the door to the room opened and Cooper and Nathalie walked in.

''What's this all about?'' Cooper asked. ''I haven't got clearance to leave the airfield and return to base.'' He asked sounding a bit annoyed.

''Calm down captain, unlike Mr. O'Neill here, you can be replaced.'' Pete said, while still reading through the stack of papers. ''Have a seat all of you, I have important news.''

Cooper and Nathalie complied, both taking a seat with me, Nathalie quickly grabbing my hand from underneath the table.

''Nice job in Frankfurt kid.'' Cooper whispered as the little screen showed Pete organizing the papers on his desk.

''I tried my best.'' I said with a grin as Nathalie stomped on my toes. ''Ouch! Ok, ok fine, we did our best, jeez.'' I whispered, making Cooper snicker as Nathalie just smiled brightly.

''Now ladies and gentleman, atleast I presume both champions are listening in aswell.'' Pete said pressing a button, dimming the lights in the room and starting a presentation.

''We sure are! Well atleast I am. Yi might be meditating, he'll still listen in on the conversation, I'm sure.'' Leona explained. ''If he doesn't listen, I'll just fill him in later.''

''I am here in the room you know?'' Yi said a bit sarcastically. ''I am capable of speaking for myself, thank you very much.''

''Good now that I know everyone of importance is listening in, I'll start the presentation. Pete said clearing his throat, signaling that he wanted to start. ''I suppose you have all heard of international defence exhibition?''

The room stayed awkwardly silent as the presentation showed a few pictures of the exhibition Pete was talking about. Nathalie and I both looked at Cooper who was nodding his head excitedly.

''We're just two college dropouts who fight evil from another world, care to explain what this exhibition is?'' Nathalie asked.

''It's the worlds largest weapons expo. Pretty cool stuff.'' Cooper said quickly as Pete glared at him. ''Sorry sir, won't happen again.''

''Well like captain Cooper said, it's a weapons expo.'' Pete said before being interrupted again.

''What does that have to do with us?'' I asked. ''Don't tell me we're going to be showcased next? I'm more than just a piece of meat you know?'' I joked, making Nathalie giggle and Cooper snicker silently.

''Strike commander please contain yourself from any further comments.'' Pete said with a sigh.

''I'll try my best. No promises.''

''Fine. Moving on to the main reason you haven't left Germany yet.'' Pete said, putting away some of the papers. ''Where there is light there is darkness and just like there is an official weapons expo there is an illegal one, you have one guess who is hosting it tomorrow evening.''

With the press of a button the presentation moved on and began to show list after list. All of them filled with names.

''Oh, oh, oh I know this one!'' I said raising my hand.

''Mark shut up!'' Nathalie whispered with a large smile on her face as she pulled my hand back down.

''Our favorite man in the world, the machine herald himself. He took it upon himself to host the event and invite a lot of… interesting people.'' Pete said throwing a bookwork onto his desk. ''These lists contain the names all the guests that are invited and guess how many of them aren't good people.''

The presentation kept on showing lists with names on them, some of the names being marked.

''More than enough if I had to guess.'' Cooper said crossing his arms. ''The big question is how are you expecting us to handle it?''

''Viktor has disguised the expo as a charity gala and let's just say that I've gotten the lovely couple here front row seats to the main event.'' Pete explained. ''Your job is to infiltrate, that means no fighting unless it can't be avoided. I would send Agent Ekko but he isn't available at this time.''

''So what are we going after?'' Me and Nathalie asked at the same time.

''I just need you two there to find out to who Viktor is going to sell his creations, we'll make sure that your disguises are fitted with recording software so the only thing you two have to do is not stand out and try to enjoy the evening.'' Pete explained calmly.

''Yeah that's easy, enjoy an evening hosted by the guy that murdered my father in cold blood.'' I said coldly.

''Mark, remember what you promised.'' Nathalie said giving me a stink-eye.

I let out a sigh and relaxed. ''You're lucky that you're sending her with me, otherwise I'd be running into that gala blade drawn.'' I said annoyed.

''I'll make sure you two get your disguises and fake identities before sunrise, that should give you two roughly sixteen hours to prepare.'' Pete said satisfied.

''Pete one more thing.'' Nathalie said. ''Where are we going this time?''

''An old castle overlooking a town in the southwest of Germany, it actually isn't that far from Frankfurt so you two are in luck. Viktor seems to have bought the castle some time ago for god knows how much money.'' Pete explained. ''I'll take my leave now. I'll make sure all three of you get the details. Pete out.'' He said as the screen turned off and the lights inside the room turned back on.

''Well I better get working on my etiquette in that case.'' I said getting up from my chair. ''You coming with me madam?'' I asked mimicking Pete's accent, making her giggle.

''I think I will good sir.''

* * *

''Man, how long is she going to take?'' I said while fiddling with the bowtie for my disguise. ''I've been done for almost an hour. If she takes another half hour to get ready we might not be allowed to enter.''

This morning two packages were delivered to the airfield, one for Nathalie and one for me. Hours later we decided to get ready for the expo that Viktor is hosting. I pulled out a white tuxedo with a nicely kept red rose in the breast pocket and a small black bow tie. The outfit was completed with fancy black pants, a golden watch, and fancy black shoes. To my surprise, it was a perfect fit as I tried it on a moment ago, now the only thing was waiting on Nathalie.

And for some reason, I couldn't help but to fiddle with the small bow tie while me and Cooper waited for Nathalie to show up.

''Heh, are you nervous kid?'' Cooper asked with a smile.

''Me? Nah…'' I replied, letting the bow tie for what it is. ''Ok, maybe a little. I'm not a party person and definitely not a fancy party person. What if I screw it up?'' I set quickly starting to fiddle with the bowtie again.

''Heh, that's not the reason you're worried though. I can see it. I've been in your shoes kid, I know what it feels like.'' Cooper relaxed in his seat, smiling at my nervousness.

''I have no clue what you're talking about.'' I said giving him a skeptical look.

''Kid, you look like a nervous groom, waiting for his bride.'' Cooper said laughing loudly. ''You two never did something fancy like this before have you?''

''Wha!? How can you just say something like that!?'' I said, feeling my cheeks light up. ''W-w-we're way too young for marriage anyway!'' I said trying to recover from my embarrassment.

''Hahahaha, kid I'm just toying with you.'' Cooper laughed loudly. ''Oh man, you young couples are way too easy to toy around with.'' He said, as the door to Nathalie and my room opened, revealing Nathalie all dressed up in a fancy cocktail dress.

''Well boys. How do I look?'' She asked with a large smile as she noticed my jaw drop.

Nathalie looked amazing. The red dress stuck to her slim yet strong body, showing off her curves. Her shoulders were completely bare, leaving her shoulders exposed. The chest piece of the dress was decorated with roses, made of a thin, darker red material. The front of the dress ended a bit over her knees, showing off a pair of beautiful heels decorated with silver which complimented the red of the dress. As the back of the dress was a bit longer to the point where it almost hit the ground. Nathalie added a silver and diamond bracelet to the outfit plus a silver necklace decorated with pearls and handmade silver leaves and of course the ring I had given her a month back. To finish off her look she had her hair done in a beautiful braid being held together by a gemstone embedded hairpin.

''I'm gonna get the car ready, I'll leave you two alone for a moment.'' Cooper said as he put on his drivers' cap and fixed his tie. Cooper was assigned as our butler for the night, driving us to the event.

''Well? Are you falling in love with me all over again or what?'' Nathalie asked with a satisfied smile on her face as I regained from my surprised form. ''Don't stare at me like that you perv, say something!''

''Wha? Ah… Yeah… Of course… Uhm… You look… nice?'' I struggled to find the right words. ''I… I can't seem to get over your beauty at the moment.'' My comment had its intended effect on Nathalie as a pink blush found its way onto her face.

''Such a charmer.'' She said with a large grin. ''If only these heels weren't killing me.'' She complained, trying to fix her heels.

''Well that's just ironic, you fight mechanical monsters and augmented champions from another world, equipped with an armor, sword, and shield that almost weighs a ton and you're complaining about wearing heels?'' I said chuckling lightly.

''At least my armor fits.'' Nathalie said pouting while bending over in front of me, once again trying to fix her heels. This of course bringing a smile to my face. ''You better not be staring at my butt right now.''

''What gave you that idea, honey?'' I said quickly looking away.

''Mark, a woman can feel when someone is staring at her, especially someone like you with your nasty idea's.'' She said turning to face me, running one finger down my nose. ''Maybe if you behave tonight, we could have some fun afterward.'' She said giving me a seductive look.

''Yes Ma'am!'' I said saluting her. ''Now madam, if you'd be so kind as to enlighten my evening with your stunning presence.'' I said with a fake accent while holding out my hand to Nathalie.

''I'd like nothing more and may I add that you yourself look stunning as well, only a fine looking gentleman like yourself may accompany me this fine evening.'' Nathalie said, making us both laugh as we took our seats in the old cab like car.

''Where to madam?'' Cooper said with a smile.

''You know where to go sir Cooper.'' Nathalie said with a snobby accent.

Cooper complied and began to drive away from the airfield and into the night. ''It will take us half an hour to get to the castle so you two just behave back there, and don't let me hear any moans or other noises or so help me I will turn this car around you two hear?'' He said chuckling.

''Got it, dad.'' I said earning some laughter from the commando.

''So Mark you remember who you are right?'' Nathalie asked, relaxing in the seat of the old German car.

''Yep, I am your date for tonight. Adalard Dolphus, a lucky servant of the Dolphus family whose heart was stolen by the stunning Alessa Dolphus, heir of her father's fortune after he passed away. When our love was forbidden by your father, you had him assassinated, took his money and married me. How's that for remembering our identities, Miss Dolphus?'' I said with a wink.

''I am impressed Adalard.'' She said giggling before kissing me. ''Now just don't forget that I am the dominant one in the relationship, so let me do all the talking until we are in, got it?''

''Naturlich Liebling.'' **(Of course my love/sweetheart)** I said with a broken German accent.

''Oh my god, Mark. You practiced your German?'' Nathalie said with a smile.

''Uhm, yeah? We might look the part, but shouldn't we sound the part too?'' I smiled at her. ''Does that earn me another kiss? Liebling?'' I asked with a grin, already moving closer to kiss her again.

''Don't press your luck lover boy, oh never mind you're already kissing.'' Leona's voice suddenly came from. ''Well I might as well enjoy this.''

''Leo!? Where did you come from?'' Nathalie asked, breaking up the kiss.

''Uhm your purse? Where else?'' She said.

''But I didn't take a purse with me…'' Nathalie said confused.

''Yeah, I forgot to give it to you, my bad.'' Cooper said. ''I put the purse with your phone in the car after Leona said you nearly forgot her.''

''Thank you, Cooper.'' Nathalie said, checking her makeup with a small mirror she took out of the purse. ''Why didn't you say anything, Leo?''

''You were so busy freaking out about your dress that I decided to let you have your fun. This might be a one-time only thing after all.'' She said cheerful.

''Aw, Leona that's so sweet.'' Nathalie said hugging her phone.

''You two are weirding me out.'' I said with my brow raised.

''Oh, hush we're just being girlfriends.'' Leona said as both Leona and Nathalie giggled.

* * *

''Identification please.'' A large man said as Nathalie and I walked up to the courtyard of the castle which was lit by the outdoor lighting.

''Pfff, you dare ask me for identification? You brute! I'll make sure your life is going to be a living hell from now on, mark my words!'' Nathalie said angrily.

''I'm sorry ma'am but my boss said to not let anyone enter unless they're on the list.'' The large man said, reaching into the pocket of his suit, pulling out the butt of a gun.

''Liebling **(My love/sweetheart)** , just show him the papers.'' I said, trying to sound cowardly.

''Be quiet you!'' Nathalie said, pulling out the fake identification papers and showing it to the large man, making him put the gun away and pull out a list instead.

''Hmmm, Ah…'' The man said, going pale. ''M-m-miss Dolphus… Excuse me for not recognizing you immediately. Who is this with you?'' The man asked quickly.

''This is my husband, of course, you imbecile. I might be a powerful woman but that doesn't mean I'd go anywhere without my husband.'' She said giving me an angry, lustful kiss.

''O-of course how could I be so stupid. Please go right in.'' The man said moving to the side, letting us into the castle. ''You're looking for the ballroom, that's where the event takes place, you can't miss it.'' The man pointed to the large lit up room in the castle. ''Please enjoy your stay.''

''I'll be the judge of that.'' Nathalie said pulling me along. ''Come Adalard.''

''Of course Liebling **(My love/sweetheart**. **)** '' I said, accepting that I was being dragged along.

''Can you believe I just got us in!?'' Nathalie squealed and giggled as we made our way to the ballroom.

''Shhhh stay in character sweetie.'' I said as we entered the ballroom.

A large crystal chandelier was hanging from the ceiling as the large glass windows of the castle overlooked the small village below. To the left of the room were tables with fancy clothes over them for people to sit down and enjoy themselves near the bar which was in the corner.

''I'm going to make myself familiar with some people around, you know since I'm the biggest baddest bitch around?'' Nathalie said, clearly enjoying her role as feared and powerful woman. ''How about you get us some drinks, Schatz?'' **(Honey/My Treasure (Treasure is a bit literal))**

''Fine, just don't get to into your role ok? I don't want to take home a power hungry girl who thinks she's the leader of a German mafia or something.'' I said walking over to the table with drinks. ''Wait a minute we're too young to be drinking!'' I whispered over to Nathalie.

''In a few weeks were not! Now hurry up and get your wife some Martini's or a Sex on the Beach or something, a Mojito is fine too.'' Nathalie said with a large grin.

''Why am I not surprised that you know all these things.'' I said with a bored expression on my face.

''What? It's summer and I'm gonna be twenty-one soon, I got to know my drinks.'' She said pouting. ''Now go and get me something!'' She said pushing me forward.

''I'm going, I'm going.'' I said walking over to the bar. ''I'll have a Vodka Martini, shaken not stirred and a Mojito, thank you very much.'' I ordered the bartender who gave me a smile at my request as he began to ready the drinks.

'' _Mark you are the worst.''_ Yi said mentally.

'' _What are you talking about? I just ordered some drinks…''_ I said with a large grin.

'' _Sure you did, I almost forgot you like those spy movies so much.''_ Yi said chuckling lightly.

'' _C'mon, this might be the only time that I look the part.''_ I argued with him before we both laughed mentally.

''Here you are sir.'' The bartender said, handing me the drinks. ''Enjoy.'' He said before turning to another person at the bar.

''Nice… Whoa sorry!'' I bumped into a small figure who fell to the ground with a loud thud and a

 ***CLANG***

from the platter that she was carrying.

''I'm so sorry little one, are you hurt? I didn't see you there.'' I apologized to a young girl dressed in a butler outfit, before helping her back on her feet. ''Aren't you a bit young to be working here?'' I asked, inspecting the girl. _She can't be much older than thirteen, jeez is Viktor into child labor aswell? This kid must have it rough to be working for someone like him._

''N-n-no I'm sorry sir, please forgive me!'' She said bowing a couple of times before picking up the now empty platter. ''Please don't tell my boss!'' She said bowing another few times.

''Don't worry kiddo, I'll keep my mouth shut.'' I said patting her on the head. ''I can see that you have it rough enough as it is.'' I said before walking back towards Nathalie.

''Here you go Schatz **(Honey/My treasure (Once again, the literal translation of the word))**.'' I said handing Nathalie her Mojito. ''Enjoy.''

''Ooooh alcohol!'' Nathalie said excitedly.

''I can already see an alcoholic blooming inside of you.'' I said with a sigh. ''Maybe it'll get rid of your cheesecake addiction, not that being an alcoholic is a good thing.'' I said earning a playful shove from Nathalie. ''Did you find anything out? Something interesting?''

''People are talking about some sort of demonstration, a main event but it hasn't started yet for some reason.'' Nathalie said with a scowl. ''Mark I have a bad feeling about this…''

''Why's that honey? Aren't you enjoying yourself?-'' I didn't get to finish my sentence as the lights in the ballroom turned off, before turning back on, all focused on Viktor who was standing in the furthest part of the ballroom.

''Ladies and gentleman may I have your attention.'' Viktor said after clearing his throat. ''I promised a demonstration of a new weapon I am developing, it isn't fully ready but here is something to give you a taste of what is to come.'' He explained as the lights turned off and a projector started to show a video.

''Battlecast Urgot. For when other anti-infantry fails, this Dreadnought will get the job done. He may not be the fastest Battlecast but for that he makes up with his four machine guns augmented with a rapid fire module and energy shield, mounted on the left and right, together with missile launchers for anti-air and anti-infantry. Build into the spider-like legs are heavy duty shotguns, ready to kill anything that dares to get close. To top off this fearsome butcher is equipped with a special hook shot mechanism that will be demonstrated shortly.'' The woman in the video explained,

''What is that supposed to mean?'' Nathalie asked as I noticed there were no longer any people around us. _Almost like… SHIT!_

''Nath, I hate it when you're right.'' I said as the floor began to sink into the ground around us, trapping us inside some sort of gladiator arena within seconds.

''Ladies and Gentleman may I have your attention once more for our main event.'' Viktor said sinisterly as he let out a manic laugh. ''The demonstration of my latest creation.''

A trapdoor opened in the middle of the arena and up came a spiderlike monstrosity that I could easily recognize as the mechanically augmented butcher. The legs of the machine began to twitch before digging all six legs into the ground, shattering the tiles of the floor. Slowly the body began to rotate and unfold, revealing two sets of machine guns and a missile launcher before a head popped up. The shotgun barrels in the knees began to flare up just like the Battlecast's eyes as the exhausts began to emit smoke signaling the activation of the machine.

''We're in deep this time Nath…'' I said looking over to Nathalie. To my surprise she hadn't wasted a second of her time and had already fused with Leona. She held her shield high and gave me a large grin.

''Let's show them how we take care of things.'' Nathalie said looking over to me.

I smiled at her and fused with Yi, taking an offensive stance, ready to take down the mechanical butcher before us.

 _Bring it on!_

* * *

 **YOOOOO WHATUP PEEPS AND PLAYERS! Oh god never doing that again… Still haven't found the right way to start a AN. Maybe someday I will find it… -.-**

 **Anyway URGOT HYPU! I was so annoyed when I wrote chapter 24 because Urgot's rework get released during that time and I had just found a way around that problem, but ofcourse Riot screws with my feels and finally reworks The GOT! With that sweet meat grinder action. I couldn't resist to not put him into this chapter and the next ofc! Originally it was going to only be Yi/Leona vs Kat/Ashe but now… Oh peeps you're in for a treat as there's even more going down!**

 **Next chapter will have a ton of stuff and also more conflict between Mark and Nathalie. YOU THOUGHT I WAS DONE WITH PULLING THEM APART? YOU WRONG FOO! Things are gonna get rough from here on out!**

 **Talking about rough, you know what else is rough? Running a Discord server (Not really, I just needed a reason to advertise the server. Shhhh tell no one, this will be our little secret. :3)**

 **You can enter the Discord channel by typing in: discord dot gg /BWpaKr9**

 **We all would really appreciate it if you joined! It's super fun in here and I'm sure you could make it even better, I mean c'mon, the more the better right?**

 **Just remember to be respectful towards others and don't be racist so we can all have a good time, k? It's seriously a blast in the server right now with all the peeps that just keep coming and coming! So what are you waiting for? Come join us! Tell your fanfic loving friends and let's have some fun together! No need for hesitation!**

 **Anywho, moving on. I'm gonna be on vacation starting this week, so I'll be gone for a while. I will be writing (probably not much but every little bit counts right?), The next thing I'll be uploading is AAT chapter 4 because I thought it was a good idea to create a second fic (Whoops questionMark?). So I'll leave you guys with a disgusting cliffhanger, god I am just mean this week. I hope you guys can wait for a bit!**

 **One last thing, guys we passed 5k views! Thank you all so much for reading the fic and leaving reviews or following! It means the world to me! If you don't like reviewing please consider joining the discord and showing your support there by letting me know what you like and what you don't like about the fic! But non the less, thank you all so much, I wouldn't be writing if it wasn't for all of you reading my story! We still got a long way to go and there's gonna be a lot of interesting moments in the near future so stick around!**

 **I hope I'll see you in the next chapter! Until next time,**

 **Emerald OUT!**


	26. Chapter 26

PROJECT: Earth

Chapter 26: The blade, the shield, and the Dreadnought

The cocking of the machine guns filled the room as the huge Battlecast readied itself for combat. ''The machine is ready.'' Its voice filled the arena before it was silenced by the sound of gunfire.

''So what's the plan?'' Nathalie asked as she blocked the incoming barrage of bullets. ''Mark?''

''Keep him busy! I'll look for a weak spot!'' I said running away from the protection of the shield as I started to circle the huge monstrosity.

The Dreadnought dug its legs into the floor, shattering the tiles as the knees of the legs opened up, revealing the red flare of the shotgun knees that were mentioned in the video a moment ago. The Dreadnought's upper body shot up, activating a sort of turning mechanism, giving me a chance to take a quick look inside.

 _No weakness there either, dammit…_

''Target acquired, locking on.'' The Battlecast's upper body started to turn and follow my every move.

''Mark! Watch out!'' Nathalie yelled, knocking me out of my train of thoughts as the Battlecast unleased another barrage of bullets and missiles, this time aimed at me.

I quickly used Meditate, protecting myself from the gunfire, only to have the barrier destroyed within seconds by the continues barrage of bullets and missiles.

A small burst of bullets shattered the Meditate barrier as a missile connected with my body, sending me flying backwards as a black cloud of smoke formed around me.

''Ngh… dammit…'' I said, holding my chest in pain as I looked up at one of Urgot's spider-like legs, the flaming barrel of the shotgun knee only a few meters away.

''Pathetic'' The Battlecast's cold, emotionless voice rang through the arena as the mechanism moved his upper body down again and began to move its legs again.

''Mark! Move!'' Nathalie said as she charged the Battlecast, slashing at its turned back, creating a small dent in the armor and making it recoil towards me. The damage forcing the machine to shift its attention to her, blasting her with its shotgun knee instead of me.

''NATHALIE!'' I yelled, avoiding a stamp from one of Urgot's legs as it slowly regained his balance from Nathalie's attack. I tried to make my way to her only to be blocked by the Dreadnought's back. ''Nath! Say something!''

''I'm fine… I used my shield, you know? What it's meant to be used for?'' She said calmly over the coms as she had the Dreadnought's attention once again. ''I could really use some intel right about now though!''

''I've got nothing right now… I'll make my way back so we can make up a strategy.'' I said as I ran around the metal giant. ''Just make sure to create some cover for us.''

''What do you think I've been doing all this time?'' Nathalie said sarcastically as she activated Eclipse, enlarging her shield before planting it into the ground and ducking behind it.

''Just don't get too cozy over there!'' I yelled making my way towards the shield.

''Purging, commencing!'' Urgot exclaimed as he walked backwards slowly, his armor began to glow a bright red, a strange energy shield forming around him as his machine guns began to fire twice as fast.

The Battlecast moved sluggishly due to the high fire rate and recoil of his weapons, giving me a chance to zoom pass him and make my way towards Nathalie while dodging the barrage of bullets.

''Incoming!'' I yelled as I got close to Nathalie's shield. Suddenly Urgot slammed one of his spider legs into the ground near me only to blast me a second later, sending me flying over the shield.

''Mark!'' Nathalie yelled as I slowly crawled towards her. ''Are you ok?!'' She asked as she took my hand and pulled me towards the safety of her shield.

''Hmpf… I think I'll manage…'' I grunted as I massaged my back slowly. ''Ok so I hope you two have a general idea of beating this thing because both Nathalie and I have no clue…'' I asked the two champions that were infused into our armors.

''I have never seen anything like this thing before…'' Yi said a little panicked.

''It's nothing like the Battlecast Urgot model that we've ever fought back on Runeterra…'' Leona said deep in thought, trying to recall anything useful.

''Damn. So what do we do now?'' Nathalie asked a little worried. ''Clearly, we can't get close to those legs, even if he has to reload them for a moment…''

''Splitting up isn't an option either, one of us will end up getting blasted by those damn knees.'' I said thinking for a moment.

''Come here.'' The cold voice of the Battlecast came from the other side of our cover as he seized fire, only to pop up seconds later, grabbing Nathalie from behind the shield and throwing her to the other side of the arena.

''NATHALIE!''

* * *

''Come here.'' Was the only thing I could hear before I was thrown to the other side of the arena by the Battlecast.

I heard Mark yell from behind the shield as I hit the wall of the arena, knocking the wind out of me before falling flat on my face into the floor of the arena. I groaned as I used my hands to push myself back up, searching for my blade as a few black spots clouded my vision.

''Come on, come on… Where is it?!'' I muttered in panic as I heard the Dreadnought move closer to my body.

As I found my blade and put my hand over the hilt, I heard the cold, emotionless voice of the Battlecast who was only inches away from my downed form. ''Poor child… Don't worry, it will be over soon.'' He said.

I looked up at the monstrosity, the cold sweat running down my back as I crawled backwards until I hit the wall of the arena. I looked into the belly of the monster. Inside was a trident-like harpoon, its spikes aimed at me as the butcher got ready to fire it into me.

All the confidence I felt before the fight was gone, replaced with fear, the fear of dying. My legs wouldn't budge, as I looked in terror at the meat grinder that was inside of the machine, the flames that fueled the machine only adding to my fear.

''NATHALIE RUN!'' Leona yelled.

''I'm sorry…'' I muttered as I closed my eyes, hoping that it would be quick.

 _ ***CLANG***_ I heard the sound of metal embedding itself into a wall, only inches away from me.

'' _It… Missed!?''_ I thought in disbelieve as I opened my eyes, revealing that the trident had barely missed my body.

''Nath! Get up!'' I looked at the source of Mark's voice, only to see him dangling from the Battlecasts neck. ''Hurry!'' He said as he stabbed the machine in the hole between the head and body.

I barely got back on my feet as one of the Battlecast's legs slammed into the ground where I had been standing, the Battlecast moved at random as it tried to knock Mark off of its neck.

I looked around the arena, looking for my shield, only to curse at how far away it was from where I was standing. ''Now or never.'' I said looking up the Dreadnought and Mark fighting as I made my way towards my shield, using my sword for support and dodging the stomping from Urgot's legs in the process.

''No freeloaders.'' Urgot's cold voice rang through the arena. The color drained from my face as I watched the Battlecast fire burst after burst into its own neck, hitting himself and Mark, knocking Mark off in the process and sending him to the ground. ''Die you Project parasite.'' The Battlecast said as he fired one of his shotgun knees, blasting Mark toward my shield.

''NO!'' I raised my hand towards the scene, tears forming in my eyes as I noticed Mark not getting up. _''nonononono…''_ I began running straight towards Mark, completely ignoring the huge machine until it blocked my path.

''You're next.'' Urgot said as he send one of his legs into me, knocking me onto my back. ''Stand still…'' The Battlecast said as his legs began to dig into the tiles of the arena, its upper body moving up as the midriff opened up again, revealing another harpoon being readied.

''Nathalie… I'm sorry…'' Leona's voice was filled with sorrow as she could feel the pain in my heart as I slowly got up, tears streaming down my face.

''No Leo, this is my fault… I forgot the most important lesson.'' I said taking my blade in two hands before beginning to charge the Dreadnought.

''STAND AND FIGHT!'' We both yelled as Urgot recoiled from firing the harpoon. ''Die…'' The machine said in his cold voice.

I screamed as I twisted out of the way of the harpoon and struck the Dreadnought in its exposed insides. The machine recoiled as my blade found its way into the middle, for a moment I thought I had actually damaged until the machine began chuckling.

''Metal… Meet metal.'' Urgot's cold voice laughed as my blade was pulled from my hands and into the grinder before Urgot slammed one of his feet into me again, this time I grabbed a hold of it, stopping it. ''What did I just say? NO. FREELOADERS.'' He said, slamming the spider leg into the ground, knocking me off.

''Nathalie we have to move!'' Leona said as the Battlecast spit out parts of the broken blade before arming the insides with another harpoon.

'' _This is it… I'm coming Mark…_ ''

''NATHALIE! CATCH!'' I heard Mark's voice yell. I looked into the direction of the voice and saw Mark, alive and well, throwing my shield towards me.

''I'll make this quick…'' The Battlecast said firing the harpoon my way as I caught my shield.

I raised my shield to block the harpoon just in time but my attempt proved in vain as the harpoon shot straight through my shield and armor as it embedded itself into my side, sending the worst pain I've ever felt through my body, dropping me to my knees while holding onto the harpoon with quivering hands.

''Just one more thing…'' The Dreadnought exclaimed as the chains inside his midriff began to move readying to probably pull me back in. ''Stand still… This will hurt only a moment…''

''Got ya covered.'' Mark said as he scooped me up from the ground before the chains got fired my way. He ran to the other side of the arena before putting me down. ''You ok?!'' He asked as he inspected the harpoon which was embedded in my side.

''I can fight… I just- Nggh… need a moment.'' I grunted in pain as I noticed I was bleeding pretty badly. ''We shouldn't give him a chance to pull me back in…''

''Noted… Just… try to take it easy, I'll take care of this.'' Mark said as he carefully stroked my cheek. ''Stay here and don't move too much, got it?''

''Sure thing… Mr. Hero…'' I said with a weak smile as Mark walked up to the Battlecast.

* * *

''You can't protect her forever…'' Urgot's voice said coldly as it mobilized again, leaving its midriff open to pull Nathalie back in at any given chance.

''I sure as hell can try!'' I said, blocking Urgot's path by standing in between it and Nathalie.

''Heroes… Disgusting…'' The Battlecast said as its armor began to glow bright red from another energy shield and unleashed a large barrage of bullets mixed with missiles.

'' _Ok Mark, you got this. Just shield her, protect the both of you…''_ I took a deep breath before casting Meditate in combination with the Overdrive, creating a protective barrier blocking the attack.

During the attack Urgot's damaged neck and shoulder armor didn't get shielded, signaling a self-created flaw by the giant, bringing a smile to my face.

'' _Mark I think we can-''_ Yi said mentally before being cut off by me, signaling me that he also noticed the part of his armor not being protected.

''I know.'' I interrupted Yi as I threw my blade into the hole in the shield, making Urgot stagger and drop the Purge shield. ''Nice!''

Sparks could be seen coming out of the Battlecast's armor as the armor turned back to its gray metal form. A small explosion followed next to the Battlecast's head, exposing more of its armor as I recalled my blade.

''You… will pay…'' The Battlecast grunted as it recovered from the damage it had sustained over the last few seconds.

''Nath, I have a plan!'' I yelled looking over my shoulder to see if she was still awake.

''Well?! Don't leave me in the dark!'' She said as she tried to pull out the harpoon. ''This better be good…''

''Do you trust me?'' I asked, taking my blade in two hands.

''Of course, I do… Why?'' She asked giving me a questioning look.

''Hold onto something, try to buy me as much time as you can.'' I said as I activated Highlander and Wuju style. _''First I need to incapacitate Urgot, after that its done for.''_

''What?! Mark what does that mean!?'' I heard Nathalie yelled as I ran off, giving Urgot the opening he had been waiting for. ''MARK?!''

I heard yelling and screams of pain coming from Nathalie as she was being dragged closer and closer to the Dreadnought. I ran next to Urgot, who didn't notice me cutting up his legs as the machine was too preoccupied with pulling Nathalie into its grinder.

''Mark we have to stop him, NOW! Nathalie won't hold out much longer!'' Yi yelled as we both noticed that Nathalie was getting closer and closer to the meat grinder.

''Already on it!'' I said as I used Alpha Strike to make my way up to Urgot's damaged neck. ''Hold on Nath!'' I yelled as I impaled the damaged part on the Battlecast's neck before slashing sideways with Wuju Style, undoing the machine of its head, shutting it down.

I looked down from the destroyed Battlecast, nearly falling off as I was noticing just how much energy I had been using to take down Urgot. I was about to take a breather when I noticed Nathalie was missing, the color drained from my face as a thought hit me.

'' _Am I… too late…?''_

I quickly grabbed a hold of my blade which was still stuck inside the Battlecast and used it to carefully make my way down towards the open midriff of the machine.

''No… Nathalie…'' I dropped to my knees, in front of the machine, raising one hand towards the midriff. I felt like I couldn't breathe for a moment. ''I was too late… again.''

As a single tear ran down my cheek, a small explosion went off inside the machine and an annoyed voice soon followed. ''Great plan… you idiot, now stop crying… *huff* and give me a hand. I'm being crushed in here.'' Nathalie called out from inside the machine.

''Nath! You can't believe how happy this makes me!'' I yelled as I immediately reached into the midriff and grabbed her hand before freeing her from the chains that constricted her.

''I fear you're going to have to carry me…'' Nathalie said with a weak smile. ''You know if you took any second longer I would have been crushed in there.'' She teased giving me a weak punch to the chest as I carried her away from the machine.

I put her down a few meters away from the metal carcass, letting her rest on my lap for a moment and hugging her tightly, carefully rocking her back and forth in my arms. Her armor had sustained heavy damage. Some of the leg armor was missing chunks, the glass of her headgear was broken, revealing one of her eyes and although the harpoon was now removed from her body, the hole that it left in her side was bleeding heavily yet here she was, smiling and teasing me…

''Hey… Mr. Hero… my eyes are up here.'' She said using a blood stained hand to force me to look at her face. ''Ugh… that hurts…'' She said frowning while pressing down on the wound.

''Yeah… that's going to leave a nasty scar.'' I said holding her free hand, which she held onto for dear life. ''But look at it from the bright side… They say scars are sexy.''

''Hehe… and who might they be?'' Nathalie asked, the smile never leaving her face.

''You know… they-'' I was interrupted by the metal carcass of Urgot beginning to move again.

With some loud noises, the carcass began to move back on its spider legs before charging towards us, ready to crush us. I knew I would never get the both of us to safety or protect us in time, and in that split-second, I decided I would stay with her until the end and hugged her tightly, preparing for the worst.

 _ ***ZAAAAAP* *CLANG***_ _ ***CLANG***_

I carefully opened my eyes and turned back to where the Dreadnought began its charge. What once was the Battlecast was now two pieces of metal, molten straight through the middle by what I presumed was a Solar Flare as Nathalie weakly held her hand up towards the two pieces of carcass, breathing heavily.

''Nice one.'' I said, my eyes never leaving the half molten pieces of metal.

''You're cute… when you're impressed.'' Nathalie said, shifting her weight onto me, letting her fatigued body rest against mine.

''Just hold on for just a moment longer, I'm going to take care of this.'' I said, carefully putting Nathalie down on the ground, letting her rest against her half destroyed shield.

I stood up and slowly made my way to where Viktor was sitting, to my surprise, he was still sitting on his throne in the now nearly empty ballroom. Although a lot of his 'guests' had already left, he had not moved a muscle. _''Hmpf, of course, that madman wouldn't want to miss one of his biggest experiments to date…''_

Without a warning I pointed my blade at him, activating both Highlander and the Overdrive with my last bit of energy before I began to charge towards him.

With one high jump, I made my way out of the arena and neared Viktor, ready to end this conflict once and for all. At least that's what I thought I was doing.

Before I had time to react (or even saw it coming.) I was met with a swift kick to the gut from a small white and blue figure. The kick sending me back into the arena, before I hit the ground a full Volley of blue arrows embedded itself into my armor, all across my chest.

''Ugh…'' I groaned in pain as I stood back up, breaking off one of the blue projectiles that were sticking out of my armor. ''What… was that?'' I asked myself as the same figure touched down into the arena.

''You're not laying a finger on him.'' The small hooded figure said as she pointed her glowing bow at me.

'' _That voice… is she? That little girl from earlier tonight?!''_

''You're on the wrong side of this conflict little one.'' I said, pulling another set of arrows out of my chest plate.

I didn't give her a chance to react as I ran up to her, slashing towards her. To my surprise, she was better trained than I expected as she avoided the attack by ducking underneath it.

''I do what I must…'' She said with a sad tone in her voice as she slammed the bow into my gut before jumping up against my chest, launching herself towards the wall of the arena.

As she got closer to the wall, she twisted into the right position to use the wall as a second jump pad. This time my eyes went wide in shock as I noticed something standing out, her hands shined a bright blue light as she fired a finishing flurry of arrows all aimed at my head, ready to impale me.

'' _Is that… the Overdrive!?''_ I looked on in shock as the flurry of arrows neared my head. _''It can't be…''_

''Mark! Move!'' Nathalie yelled as she pushed me aside and raised her shield, protecting me from the arrows that otherwise would have killed me. ''You idiot…'' She muttered as she fell to her knees, using her shield for support as she held her side in pain.

Meanwhile, the small figure lost her balance in the air and fell towards the ground with a loud thud, dropping her bow. In panic she reached for her weapon, giving me a chance to kick it out of reach before I crouched down in front of her. ''I'm sorry kid… I really am'' I said before punching her in the face, knocking her unconscious.

''Nath how are you holding up?'' I asked breathing heavily.

''Never better…'' She said weakly.

''You think you can walk?'' I said grabbing the archer by the hood and began dragging her with me.

''I think I can for a little while…'' she said as she slowly made her way over towards me. ''Maybe we should find some rags and alcohol to stop the bleeding first…''

''How about we get out of this pit first-'' I said before being interrupted by three daggers being thrown into my back.

''LET HER GO!'' Another figure jumped into the arena, ready to kill us if she had to. ''Drop the girl and I'll consider killing you quickly.'' She said, the anger boiling in her voice. ''You have three seconds.''

''Two…'' She warned as she readied herself to throw another dagger.

''One…'' I wasn't going to put the figure down, both I and Katarina knew this wouldn't happen after what I just witnessed.

''Fine, die for it then!'' Katarina yelled in anger as she threw the dagger.

'' _Dammit Mark, how hard is it to call a bluff for once?''_

 _ ***POP***_

''Backup's here!'' A cheery voice yelled as he jumped through the glass of the ballroom and into the arena. ''Aw man you guys started the party without me?'' Damien asked as he stood in between us and Katarina. ''Bella Donna, we meet again.'' He said as he began to fight with Katarina.

The ballroom quickly emptied out as Jason and Cooper plus their squads entered the building right after Damian jumped in. The whole ballroom was in chaos as the room filled with soldiers, giving me and Nathalie the perfect window to escape.

''Pssst, Mark! Nathalie! Over here! Hurry up!'' Cooper yelled as he held out his hand, to pull us up.

''Here take her first.'' I said as I held up the unconscious body of the Frost Archer.

''Who's she? And why are we risking our lives to get her out of here?'' Cooper asked confused as he pulled the young girl up.

''I have some questions for her.'' I said with a serious tone in my voice.

''Mark… we really have to go… We don't have time for this…'' Nathalie said weakly.

''After what I just witnessed, she's worth risking our lives over.'' I told Nathalie as I supported her weight as Cooper pulled her out of the arena. ''Now let's the hell out of here.''

''C'mon I got some medical supplies to fix up that wound of yours.'' Cooper said as pointed at Nathalie's wound before carrying her towards the exit of the ballroom.

'' _Let's just hope we'll make it in time…''_

* * *

*Twenty minutes later.*

''Get the infirmary ready! I got two agents who are in need of immediate medical attention!'' Cooper said as he carried Nathalie into the airship.

''Sir do you need help?'' One of the pilots asked me as I stumbled after Cooper.

''If you would be so kind and take this small pest to a holding cell inside the ship… She's a present for our CO.'' I said as I motioned to the unconscious girl who I was dragging along by her hood. ''Don't let her out of your sights, she is crucial intel.''

''Yes sir!'' The pilot saluted and carried the girl inside, leaving me at the airstrip.

''I haven't got all day! Hurry up, Mark! She has lost a lot of blood!'' Cooper yelled from inside the plane.

''What are you waiting for? Christmas? Just go, I'll catch up!'' I yelled back as I saw Cooper hand Nathalie to another person who took her towards the infirmary, Cooper following the person close.

I ran into the cargo hold of the plane, only to trip over a lose cable, landing on my stomach, the pain from the wounds that Ashe had left pulsing with pain as I hit the floor. I groaned as I curled up in a fetal position, taking deep breaths as I began to think to myself.

'' _Could this have been any worse?''_

'' _It could have only gone better if you used Meditate a bit later…''_ Yi suddenly spoke up mentally scolding me.

'' _I know that, I was just a little… preoccupied with GETTING THE HELL OUT OF THAT CASTLE!''_ I snapped back at my teacher and friend as I slowly got back up from the ground, making my way towards the metal stairs up into the plane.

'' _You should work harder on managing your energy management and ability usage. That's all I'm saying, it is not an attack, it is advice.''_ Yi explained calmly, triggering a nerve.

''Oh, I'm sorry. Were you expecting to fight a new Battlecast model? Or two Project users, one using the Overdrive against us!?'' I yelled through the cargo hold, clearly losing my temper due to the frustration and pain.

''You sank a lot of energy into fighting that Battlecast, although you knew damn well that you should have saved a bit because even if you took it down, you would still needed to look for a way out of that castle.'' Yi said with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

''If I didn't go all out, both Nathalie and Leona would have been dead by now, grinded into nothingness, is that what you want!? What's your point, Yi?'' I asked, the anger boiling in my voice.

''We need to train more to protect the ones that we hold dear.'' Yi said recollecting his calmness. ''Always strife for improvement Mark. Do not see it as an attack.''

''Got it, we'll work on it later.'' I said leaning against the stairs. ''If I ever get up these stairs that is…''

''Need a hand?'' Cooper asked, extending his hand towards me as I gratefully grabbed it. ''You two got in one hell of a fight, our medic is treating your girlfriend as we speak, c'mon I'll get you to the infirmary.'' Cooper said, supporting my body with his arm.

Cooper carried me into the small infirmary inside the airship, it wasn't anything special but it got the job done. A white curtain hung between the bed Cooper put me down on and another bed which I presumed was where Nathalie was being treated at the moment. Cooper stuck his head through the curtain and whispered something before popping his head back out again.

''She says she'll be right with you, just sit tight.'' Cooper said as he walked out of the small room.

''Cooper…'' I interrupted him as he was about to leave, making him turn around. ''How is she doing?''

''She's tough.'' Cooper said, forcing a smile before walking away.

'' _Sigh''_

I took off the PROJECT helmet and ran a hand through my snow white hair, letting out a sigh as I put the helmet on the bed. I tried to relax for a moment but the moment was quickly interrupted by grunts of pain and whispers from two female voices.

I got up from the bed and slowly made my way towards the curtain that split the room in two, revealing a makeshift operation table with Nathalie on it, defused from Leona with tears in her eyes.

''Wh…ere…'s Mar…k…?'' She kept repeating as she tried to grab a hold of the medic's hands.

''I don't know where your friend is, sweetie but you need to calm down so I can stitch up your wound and give you a blood transfusion.'' The medic said as she forced Nathalie to let go of her hands.

My face went pale as I looked at Nathalie, laying on the operation table, the wound that was left by Urgot was still bleeding after all Cooper and I did to try and stop it. The upper part of the beautiful cocktail dress that she had been wearing for the night was ripped to shreds so the medic could do her work.

The heartrate monitor was at an all-time high as Nathalie was panicking while the medic gave her medication to calm her down before going to work on the wound.

Our eyes met, her fear filled ones with my calm ones. Nathalie began to visibly calm down, letting the medic do her work as I sat down next to the bed, holding her hand as the narcotics began to kick in, helping her fall asleep.

''Thank god, she's finally down for the count… Thanks kid, but I have to ask you to leave now. I'll be right with you to fix you up.'' The medic said as she gave me a quick wink while readying some rags to clean the large wound on Nathalie's side.

''Got it doc…'' I said walking off before closing the curtain behind me.

I sat down on the bed again, taking a moment to reflect on tonight's fight. _''God, I screwed up… I can't believe Nathalie nearly died… I can't believe I risked her life…''_ I rubbed my eyes slowly, just sitting on the bed for what felt like hours before speaking up.

''Yi…''

''Hmmm? What is it, Mark?'' He asked calmly.

''You were right about everything… I should have managed my energy better, I just…'' I said looking at the orange helmet before putting it down next to me again.

''It's ok Mark. You did a good job today, that's-'' Yi began as I interrupted him.

''It should have been a great job… Nathalie shouldn't have gotten hurt like this… I feel really bad about this one…'' I said, guilt marking my words. ''She could have died…''

''She's going to be ok, I just know it.'' Yi said trying to lighten up the mood.

''We'll have to work extra hard from now on, so something like this doesn't happen again… Ugh… My back…'' I interrupted myself as a wave of pain went through my back.

''Those could have been closed by now if you just saved up a little energy to heal yourself.'' Yi mocked with a laugh.

''Ha, ha, no need to rub it in you old geezer.'' I said as we shared a quick laugh.

''Good to hear that you regained your sense of humor.'' The medic said as she opened the curtains.

She let out a deep sigh before removing the bloody surgical gloves from her hands and started to wash them before putting on another pair. ''Well? Get that armor off, I can't fix you up if you're wearing it.''

I complied with a nod and defused with Yi, making the helmet and armor disappear into thin air, revealing my white tuxedo, or whatever was left of it anyway. The suit was filled with small holes circled with blood, left by either Ashe her arrows or by Katarina's daggers. _''Well I'm never wearing this one again…''_ I thought as I took off the clothes, revealing some wounds.

''This won't take long, it will sting, but it isn't stitch work.'' The medic said as she finished inspecting the wounds. ''Just sit still for a moment.''

''Is… Nathalie going to be ok?'' I asked a bit uncertain as the medic cleaned my wounds and covered them carefully with gauze.

''She's going to be fine, it was one hell of a job but I got it done after almost an hour.'' The medic said with a cocky smile on her face.

''How bad is it?'' I asked, afraid of the answer.

''Well the healing effect of Leona should help with the closing of the wound but it's going to leave one hell of a scar, I'll tell you that.'' The medic said, meeting my worried gaze. ''But! I'm sure she can sleep in her own bed tonight, she's tough, no need to keep her here.''

''Believe me, I know she is.'' I said chuckling lightly at the comment from the medic.

''That should do it for you, just make sure to heal up tomorrow morning with your little meditation magic and you should be able to take off the bandages after that.'' The medic said with a smile/

''And what about Nathalie?'' I asked as I opened the curtain to the other side of the infirmary.

''Ah hell, just take her to your room, she'll be more comfortable waking up there with you by her side, compared to waking up in an infirmary bed.'' The medic said waving off the comment.

''Thank you doc, we owe you our lives.'' I said giving the medic a small bow of gratitude.

''Aw shucks, you're going to make me blush. I'm just doing my job kiddo. Now let's get you two some rest.'' The medic said as she helped me carry Nathalie's sleeping form to our room.

* * *

I opened the door to our little room inside the airship, carefully throwing back the sheets of the bed before laying Nathalie in and closing the door behind us.

I let out a sigh as I looked at her. I felt horrible just by looking at her, she had been through so much tonight, all because I wasn't fast enough… I balled my fists in frustration as I looked at her.

The beautiful red dress was torn to shreds, her chest and middle covered in bloody bandages, her skin paler than usual due to all the blood loss she had suffered and a constant look of pain on her face. ''That thing must be clinging to your body…'' I muttered to her sleeping form as I carefully removed the tight dress and heels that came with the outfit, freeing her from the tight clothing, letting her sleep in her underwear.

'' _Sigh…''_

I removed my own clothes, revealing my own bandaged upper body, the medic had done a nice job on fixing us up, the only difference was that I was lucky enough to have Yi's Meditate at my side, making me feel extra guilty that I wasn't the one being attacked by Urgot.

Next, I carefully removed the shoes and pants that came with the tuxedo, throwing it aside to where I had thrown all the remains of our outfits (Not that there was much left.) before carefully laying down onto the bed in my own underwear.

I carefully covered the both of us with the sheets of the bed and pulled Nathalie closer to me, carefully letting her rest in my embrace as if I was protecting her from harm.

''I'm sorry…'' I whispered before letting the fatigue of this crazy night take over as I drifted off to sleep.

'' _I love you.''_

* * *

 **!Warning! Really long AN up ahead, I did some responding to some reviews that I can't respond to in any other way. Ty for your understanding. :3**

 **EYOOOOOOOO, I'm finally back from the dead! So my peeps it's been way to long since I had the chance to write and update this story! Glad to be back!**

 **Anyway Emerald back with another chapter that definitely didn't take too long to post since I didn't have a laptop charging cable during the last two weeks of my vacation (I literally died searching for a replacement but apparently it's really hard to find the right cable in Oregon lol.). The vacation was lovely but a bit too long for my taste… that's what she said… Sorry I'm like this.**

 **Before I continue, I wanted to thank all the people who have followed recently and reviewed the fic, I'm so happy that you guys took your time to comment on my writing! Some of you are guests and anons so I can't reply directly so I might aswell do it here just to show my appreciation! :3**

 **So I think the first two are from the same person, I'm not sure but they're from guests,**

'' **Ok so ive read pretty far and I wanted to ask. Not a single person of mark's family questioned his white hair? Or did that go away?''**

 **\- You are correct about that second part, no one would notice since the hair color changes back to its owners original color after defusing with the champion.**

'' **No don't pull them apart. Nuu. I hate the oh you were right and im so sorry stuff. It's not real life. I only put up with it so far because the fanfic f*cking rocks.''**

 **\- uhm… wow, thanks for the compliment, I don't know about the whole ''rocking'' part but if you say so, as for the pulling them apart and the whole I'm sorry, you're right part, the next couple of chapters will focus on a big conflict between the two (See it as a Civil War 2 kind off idea, like the comics, not the movie.)**

 **Next we got a anon who posted,**

'' **Nice job so far but im still waiting if youll bring Roxanne in cause she is a good guy now.''**

 **\- There is going to be some mentioning of her and Tobias, but for now I haven't got a cameo planned since the next couple of chapters are going to focus around Mark and the girl. (Don't worry tho, stuff is planned although that might have to wait until next year since Halloween and Christmas are coming up! I got some pretty good stuff planned!)**

 **Last one I got was yesterday from another guest who said,**

'' **:I finished this and thought wow this must have a huge following. Not many people. I love the work however and hope you continue. Very underrated''**

 **\- Well it's my first work and I put a lot of work into improving, ever since chapter… 10(?) I think… I really started to improve on my writing and I can see a clear difference between when I started two years ago and now, still THANK YOU for such a huge compliment!**

 **So yeah… late chapter and all that bad and good stuff. Tbh. This isn't how I wanted this chapter to end but alas twas the best moment to end it, sorry Discord squad I promised big reveals and secrets about the little girl (Ashe) and all you got was her using the Overdrive… ;-; ~ plis am tired. (Feel free to speculate about that in the reviews btw :3) (Let's assign you guys some homework. What do you guys think is up with her using the Overdrive?) I'm a horrible person I know ;)**

 **Time to advertise the Discord server! And it's super serious this time! We really need some more readers in the chat! The server is filling up with writers from different stories who would just love to shamelessly advertise their stories (Myself included ofc, hehe.). Thing is the readers are a little outnumbered which breaks my heart, so if you haven't joined yet I really want to ask you to consider it, it might be a little madhouse but it's a great community (most of the time.. -.-)**

 **You know the drill! You can enter the discord server by typing in: Discord dot gg / BWpaKr9**

 **Or Pm me and I'll send you an invite to the Discord if the link doesn't work for you.**

 **Just remember to be respectful towards others and don't be racist so we can all have a good time, k? It's seriously a blast in the server right now with all the peeps that just keep coming and coming! So what are you waiting for? Come join us! Tell your fanfic loving friends and let's have some fun together! No need for hesitation!**

 **Now before I go I just want to thank everyone for any kind of support that I've gotten on the fic, everything helps, from a simple and short review saying that you enjoy the fic to following or even favoring my story! I love all of you for taking your time to follow my beautiful babies on their journey to protect earth!**

 **Sorry for the long wait… Next time won't be too long, promise!**

 **Anyway thank you guys so much for sticking with me and believe me we're far from done! I won't give up on the story my lovelies! THAT'S A PROMISE! I will see you guys in the next chapter!**

 **Until next time! Emerald out!**


	27. Chapter 27

PROJECT: Earth

Chapter 27: Revelations

I sat in the middle of the arena that Viktor had built for those two PROJECT pests infiltrating his business. The Battlecast nearly completed its task but of course, it failed and last and definitely the worst part, little snow flower jumped in and got herself captured by the last person I wanted to capture in the world.

'' _What would happen if they all find out… Would she turn her back on us? Will they kill her? I wish there was something I could have done to prevent it all, but they really are that much alike...''_

''Hey Snow-white! Are you that assassin the boss has been talking about?'' Flynn asked as he approached my crouched form. ''We need to get out of here, it ain't safe.'' He said, putting a hand on my shoulder.

''You're the hired gun, right? Where were you during all this?'' A bit of anger marking my words as I brushed his hand off of my shoulder.

''I was running my third arrant for the boss man.'' He explained, clearly not bothered by the hatred in my voice. ''So you coming or what? Boss wants you with us for the next part of the plan.'' He said before continuing. ''And don't try to rebel, my orders are very clear.'' I heard him say as he cocked one of his guns, presumably aiming it at the back of my head.

I used Shunpo, avoiding the barrel of the gun being pointed at me, ending behind Flynn before drawing one of my larger daggers and holding it against Flynn's throat. ''You should really work on your aim.''

''You should really work on your predictability.'' He said, motioning towards the gun that was pressing against my stomach with his eyes. ''So now that we established that I'm at the top of the food chain here, can we get a move on?''

Without a word, I removed the dagger from his throat and defused with Katarina, showing off my even more unamused face.

''Good girl.'' Flynn said as he put away his guns and began to walk towards a rope that he used to get into the pit. ''Come on we got a long journey ahead of us.''

I followed the man out of the pit and into the courtyard of the castle, which was now in ruins due to the fight between me and the Ekko kid and his friends. _''Ugh, I can't believe I didn't just go for the wounded two when I had the chance…''_

''Where are we going anyway?'' I asked Flynn who slowed his pace to match mine. ''You seem to know more about our mission.''

''First of all, don't call it a mission, it's a job. Now to answer your question, we're going to visit some old friends.'' He said with an annoyed look on his face. ''Boss promised to keep his end of the deal if I did this last thing.''

''So master has a deal with you too?'' I asked as we walked down the hill where the castle was located. ''I'm going to press my boundaries and ask you, what kind of deal?''

''You call him 'master'? What are you a sex slave or something?'' Flynn asked, breaking into laughter. His comment confusing me a bit. ''What? You don't know what that is?''

''A slave? Yes. Sex… No…'' I admitted, my face going red out of embarrassment.

''Well girly, you've been missing out, maybe I'll teach you a thing or two, I mean it's not like you're bad looking or anything.'' Flynn said laughing. ''As for your question, months back that brat in orange busted me and most of my crew during a bank robbery, Viktor turned to me and offered me a nice and shiny armor and a deal. I've been practicing ever since.''

''You used to rob banks? That's pathetic.'' This time it was my turn to laugh out loud before hiding my smile behind my hand. ''What? Was killing people for money too much of a job?'' I asked after calming down a bit.

''I'll let you know that I'm the most skilled assassin when it comes to guns, but robbing banks is a far easier task.'' Flynn said annoyed. ''Boss told me that if I continued my services, he'd bust out my crew, this is my last service.'' He explained as we reached a large truck which he unlocked.

''Which is?'' I asked taking a seat in the passenger seat.

''Getting someone back.'' He said starting the truck before driving off.

* * *

It's been about three days since the Urgot fiasco, once we (With we, I actually mean just myself, Nathalie was out cold for the longest time…) returned from the mission we got scolded by pretty much everyone back at the base.

Pete was mad because we blew our covers and don't get him started on the destroyed disguises which apparently cost a LOT of money.

Agnes was about to explode when she saw the condition both Nathalie and I were in. She didn't really agree with the work the medic did back on the airship and proceeded to schedule surgery on Nathalie almost immediately.

And Alisha joined in on the scolding as she was mad because Damian had to jump in, risk his life again and miss two days of school because of it. During her scolding, neither me or Damian could keep a straight face as neither of us really cared.

Pete and Agnes agreed that Nathalie needed time to recover from her surgery and that she needed someone with her to take care of her, so Pete gave us both a few days off unless something really big happened.

'' _We'll see what kind of intel we can get out of your little prisoner.''_ I heard Pete's last words, waking me up from my sleep.

I slowly opened my eyes, letting them adjust to the little bit of sunlight in the bedroom. I felt Nathalie move around in my arms, clearly not ready to wake up yet. I can't really blame her for being tired, her body is constantly fatigued due to the rapid healing of her wound.

'' _I should get up…''_ I thought to myself, before noticing my arm was stuck underneath Nathalie. _''Screw it.''_ I told myself as I carefully grabbed Nathalie and pulled her as close as possible, carefully spooning her a little and kissing the back of her head.

'' _Yi you there?''_ I asked mentally as I felt Nathalie turn her head to see what was going on, flashing a smile once she saw me before going back to sleep.

'' _What is on your mind Mark?''_ Yi asked, clearly knowing what I wanted to discuss with him for the hundredth time.

'' _You're certain that you've never seen Ashe or any other PROJECT champion use the Overdrive right?''_ I asked Yi, trying to sound calm which wasn't really working.

'' _As far as I know and remember, I was the only one who was experimented on, resulting in this power that has now also transferred to you.''_ Yi explained.

'' _There has to be an explanation for that girl having control over the Overdrive. I mean technically speaking, if you're patient zero and then pass it onto me through our bond, how can it end up with her?''_ I began to let my thoughts run wild for a moment.

'' _Maybe you passed it on unknowingly? Maybe through contact?''_ Yi suggested.

'' _Could be but I've never seen a girl like her in my life, and if it were through body to body contact, Nathalie should have been developing the Overdrive aswell…''_ I said with a wide smirk on my face.

'' _I'm not even going to question the logic behind that thought…''_ Yi said, beginning to laugh a little.

'' _I suppose we'll just-''_

'' _Incoming phone call from Agnes, do you want me to take it or do you want to talk to her yourself?''_ Yi said interrupting my thoughts.

''I'll get up and talk to her myself, on my way Yi.'' I muttered, carefully removing my arm from underneath my sleeping girlfriend, making her groan and turn around in bed.

''Where are you going?'' She asked sleepily.

''Phone call from Agnes, it might be important.'' I explained as I put on a t shirt. ''You just sleep a little longer, I'll make you some breakfast and give you your meds in a second.''

''You know *Yawn* I can do those things myself…'' Nathalie said rubbing her wound which was nicely covered in bandages.

''I know but I'd love to see you feeling a bit better, you've been so tired lately. You just take it easy.'' I said, walking towards the bedroom door.

''You're such a sweetheart.'' Nathalie muttered before rolling over in the bed and going back to sleep.

''Somethings just never change…'' I said to myself, making my way into the kitchen. ''Now let's see… What was I doing again?''

''Uhm… phone call? Also good morning sleepyhead.'' Leona said as a yellow light appeared on the wireless soundbar underneath the TV.

''Right, thank you, Leo.'' I said, searching for my phone.

''Kitchen counter…'' Leona said, chuckling a bit.

''Right, right… Thanks.'' I said picking up the phone. ''What's up Agnes?''

''Well we finally had a breakthrough with that girl.'' Her voice was filled with excitement as she spoke.

''What did you get!? Anything of importance? Where she came from? Where Viktor is? More PROJECT champions?-'' I began rambling. _''I need to know!''_

''Mark… Mark… MARK! Calm down for second.'' Agnes yelled from the other side of the line. ''We got her to say one sentence and give us one answer…'' Agnes explained disappointedly.

''Well?'' I asked.

''She literally said, 'I will only speak with the one that uses the Overdrive.'…'' Agnes said, the line going silent for a moment. ''The other thing she answered was a question I asked, if I could take some blood samples, she agreed to that aswell, no words, just nodding...''

''That's what you call progress?'' I asked Agnes. ''I mean sure she actually said something but that's it? She wants to talk to me?''

''With the blood samples, I can try to figure out who she is and where she came from, as for the speaking thing, she hasn't said anything since you brought her in, with the exception of asking for other clothes.'' Agnes explained with a hint of irritation. ''So yeah, I'd call this progress.''

''No need to get angry with me, I'm just saying that with all the skilled interrogators we have, I would expected her to crack a bit sooner but if I'm the only one she'll talk to, I'll make my way over immediately!'' I said, already trying to hang up the phone.

''Mark wait.'' Agnes stopped me. ''Why did you take her prisoner? Why her?''

''She's of importance, she…'' I stopped myself from talking. _''I haven't even told Nathalie… should I tell Agnes? Later, not now.''_

''Mark? Hello? Are you still there?'' Agnes asked, sounding a bit worried. ''Is there something going on here?''

''I'll tell you later, for now I'll make my way over. I need answers from her.'' I said with a serious tone in my voice. ''Don't worry about me, I'll be fine.''

''I'll go back to reviewing those samples. I'll see you soon?'' Agnes asked, the happy tone in her voice returning.

''Give me an hour, I'll be there.'' I said hanging up the phone before letting out a deep sigh. _''So she knows what it is… This could be bad.''_

I took a few deep breaths as I leaned against the kitchen counter for support. The thoughts about that girl bothered me to the point that I couldn't sleep the past few nights. All I can do at night is twist and turn, hoping to come up with something to calm my mind.

'' _It seems the exhaustion is catching up… Thank god Nathalie hasn't noticed yet.''_ I thought to myself as two hands grabbed my middle and a figure hugged me from behind.

''Hey…'' Nathalie said weakly. ''Are you ok? You seem tired…''

''Says you.'' I said with a smile while carefully grabbing the hands that covered my stomach. ''I'm fine, I just really want to get some answers out of that girl.''

''Why her? You never explained it, or maybe you did and I don't remember, hehe… My mind is still a bit woozy from the near death experience.'' Nathalie asked, giving me a worried look as I turned to her.

'' _Tell her Mark!''_ A part of me screamed. _''She needs to know!''_

''I just… saw an opportunity, I had a gut feeling I suppose.'' I lied to Nathalie. ''Now why are you out of bed? Didn't I tell you to rest up?'' I tried changing the subject.

''You're way too loud, you woke me up…'' Nathalie said pouting. ''So I thought, I might aswell take my pain meds now and give them some time to do their job so I can bathe and clean myself.'' Nathalie explained with a smile.

''Are you sure you're up for that? I really don't mind helping you again.'' This time it was my turn to give her a worried look. The fact that she needed to take painkillers to be able to do something as simple as washing herself had me worried.

''Of course you wouldn't mind rubbing your hands over my naked body you perv.'' Nathalie said giving me a shove before laughing a bit. ''No, I'll be fine, thank you for worrying about me doctor O'Neill.'' She said giving me a kiss. ''You just freshen up and leave, I'm curious what that girl has to say aswell.''

''You better take good care of yourself when I'm away, if those bandages aren't applied properly when I come back, I'll redo them myself.'' I said walking pass Nathalie and into the bathroom.

''I'm sure you will.'' Nathalie laughed as I walked into the bathroom, getting ready to leave.

* * *

After making Nathalie breakfast and being assured at least nine times that she was going to be fine, I made my way to the base. Using Highlander after three days felt amazing, being able to run around at high speed never felt so good to me, unfortunately having fun had to wait as I had a more important job to do.

As I neared the base I noticed that the security had been bumped up by a lot. The fence around the compound was doubled, two armed guards were protecting the building (Thank goodness they let me in.), there were cameras all around the entrance and the lobby aswell as more armed guards patrolling the building in brought daylight.

I looked around in the lobby, a bit confused as to what had happened here in the few days that we were absent. While making my way towards Agnes her lab to ask her for direction to where the girl was being kept, I was stopped by a voice that I was trying to avoid.

''What the bloody hell are you doing here? Didn't I send you and your girlfriend home for a couple of days?'' Pete asked as he walked up to me. ''Agent answer me.'' He demanded.

''Yes you did.'' I said with a sigh. ''I got a phone call from Agnes on her progress with our prisoner.''

''Ah, she told you already… I suppose my orders weren't clear enough.'' Pete muttered while rubbing his chin. ''Yes, she only wants to speak to you apparently.'' He explained annoyed.

''Well that's why I'm here, just doing my job.'' I said saluting the commanding officer as I began to walk away from the man wearing a fancy vest and tie.

''How is she?'' He asked right before I left earshot.

''What was that? I didn't quite catch that last question.'' I said turning around to face the older man.

''How is Agent- Nathalie… doing?'' Pete asked, crossing his arms, pretending to not care. ''I heard her injuries were pretty severe.''

''She's doing fine, at least that's what she keeps telling me.'' I said narrowing my eyes at Pete. ''The wound's closing nicely, no signs of infection or irritation. It's just going to leave a nasty scar.'' I explained, trying to keep my jealousy at bay.

''That's great to hear, it would be a shame to lose such a… valuable asset.'' Pete said, thinking extra about his final words.

'' _Mark, contain yourself.''_ Yi warned mentally. _''Don't let your jealousy get to you, you're better than that.''_ He warned as he felt my anger boiling.

''Heh, yep. She sure is special to me.'' I said, forcing a smile before walking off, leaving Pete in the hallway. ''I'll be on my way sir, wouldn't want to leave our guest waiting.''

'' _That was close…''_ Yi let out a sigh of relief. ''Don't actually tell me that you feel threatened by him.'' Yi spoke up as we neared med bay.

''I think I do…'' I said sticking my hands in my pockets, balling fists. ''I know Nathalie would never but still, it only takes one step in the wrong direction.''

''You're worrying way too much, you have nothing to fear, I'm sure of it.'' Yi assured as I walked into the med bay, revealing the young blonde doctor, her hair tied in a ponytail and her signature lab coat with a few stains in it.

''Agnes! How's everything going over here?'' I asked with a friendly smile as the blonde looked up.

''Pretty good actually, I just finished looking at those samples.'' Agnes said, her smile disappearing from her face. ''It's eh… complicated… How do I explain this without you freaking out… She can-''

''Use the Overdrive, yes I know.'' I interrupted the blonde, mimicking her grim look. ''That's the reason why I insisted we take her back here.'' I said walking up to Agnes. ''Did you find anything else?''

''Mark if you knew why didn't you say that immediately!?'' Agnes asked in disbelieve. ''It would have saved me so much time!''

''I had to be sure that what I saw actually happened, that I wasn't just seeing things…'' I said looking at my glowing pals. Without knowing it I had summoned the Overdrive in my hand. _''Just frustration I suppose… If only I knew how to talk to you again.''_

''Mark? Maaark? Hello? I thought I lost you for a moment.'' Agnes said laughing, knocking me out of my thoughts. ''I wanted to try a few more things before handing over the samples to the authorities, I'll keep you up to date.'' She said, handing me a keycard.

''What's this?'' I asked confused as I inspected the keycard. ''New security measures?''

''That too, you'll need that to get into the holding cell where we're keeping her locked up.'' Agnes said motioning me to follow her. ''I'm sure both captain Cooper and Jason will be happy to see you.'' Agnes said as she walked me out of the lab.

''Why's that? I haven't done anything special just yet.'' I asked as the blonde doctor walked with me towards the holding cells.

''They've been trying to get her to talk for two days now… Nothing seems to work, bargaining, good cop, bad cop, giving her what she wants, whatever they try, nothing works.'' Agnes said, laughing into her hand. ''I was actually surprised when she said she'd only talk to you.''

''Same here, it might have to do with the fact that we're the only ones that are able to use the Overdrive as far as we know of course.'' I said as we neared a heavy fortified door. ''This is it?''

''Sure is, try the keycard.'' Agnes said, motioning to the lock on the door.

I complied and pressed the card against the holographic lock, after removing the card the lock turned green and the doors slowly opened, revealing a dark room with a recording setup and a large window.

On the other side of the window was a large white lit up room with a glass cube in the middle, the young girl sitting inside, the only other thing inside the cube was a white bed made of plastic. The girl was dressed in a long black sweater, nearly passing her knees and a white shirt underneath with ripped jeans. Her short black hair tied up in a ponytail.

Agnes passed me and walked into the small recording room, taking a seat in one of the chairs before taking a look inside the room with the cube.

''I'M FUCKING DONE WITH THAT LITTLE SHIT!'' An angry voice yelled through the small room as a man with short black hair and a white highlight stormed out.

''Jason, wait up! You just have to find the right way to talk to her, she's just a teenager!'' Cooper yelled as he tailed the other man, making him stop in his tracks.

''NEXT TIME SHE MAKES A SNARKY COMMENT, I'M THROWING A GRENADE IN THAT GODDAMN CELL!'' Jason yelled before walking away from Cooper before bumping into me. ''Good luck, you'll need it.'' He grumbled, nearly walking into the locked door Agnes and I just walked through.

''Jason, c'mon…'' Cooper said while crossing his arms. ''There he goes again…'' He said with a sigh.

''Tough crowd?'' I asked, putting my hand on his shoulder.

''She sure is, she loves toying with Jason, poor guy's still young, doesn't have kids of his own. He has no clue how to deal with her and she loves it.'' Cooper said snickering. ''Anyway, good luck with her. I'm gonna go home for now.'' Cooper said waving as he walked through the doors.

''All right then…'' I told myself as I walked into the small recording room, where Agnes was waiting on me.

I was about to pass through the small door which separated the white room with the cube and the recording room when Agnes stopped me. ''She doesn't know your face, let's keep it that way.'' She said with a smile. ''You know, for safety.''

''Good idea actually.'' I said giving her a nod as I fused with Yi, his armor covering my body and his blade floating in front of me. ''I'll leave this with you.'' I said handing the doctor the orange blade before walking through the door.

I closed the door which separated the holding cell from the rest and slowly made my way down the small set of stairs. The girl inside the holding cell looked up from playing with her hair, her face turning into one of satisfaction.

She smiled widely and walked up to the glass wall, taking a seat in front of the glass before motioning me to do the same. As confused as I was, I complied, taking an awkward seat near the glass cube.

''So… Who talks first? Do I start or do you start? I mean you asked for me to be here. What do you want?'' I asked, making the girl giggle. ''Oh, you like that? Good.''

The girl nodded with a goofy grin, reminding me of myself.

''So let's start with your name, I think my friends and I entertained you long enough.'' I told the girl, making her frown. ''I know you can talk, no need to play mute with me.'' I crossed my arms, getting a bit impatient. ''What. Is. Your. Name. Answer me.''

''I don't have one.'' The girl said just above a whisper.

''Well then… Who are your parents?'' I asked calmly, scanning the girl for any change in behavior.

''No. That's not how this goes. Take off your helmet, show me your face.'' The girl demanded before silencing herself.

''How about no? You're in no position to make demands.'' I said getting a bit annoyed as the girl laughed. ''What's so funny?''

''Why are you so afraid to remove your helmet? Do you think that I don't know who you are?'' She said crossing her arms, a confident smirk finding its way onto her face. ''Markus, Mark O'Neill, twenty years, nearly twenty-one years old. In a relationship with Nathalie Brightwood, just like you, nearly twenty-one years old since you share the day of birth. Her mother passed away on the same day, your father passed away approximately four months ago-'' The girls smirk turning into a smug grin as I slammed my armored hand into the glass.

''I get it…'' I said through gritted teeth. ''You can read a file. Fine, I'll play along.'' I said, taking off my helmet, making the girl's eyes go wide. ''You got what you wanted, answer my damn question.''

''I don't have parents.'' She said, smiling.

''Bullshit.''

''Fine, fine, I'll share some details because you went out of your comfort zone by taking off your helmet.'' The girl laughed. ''I was genetically engineered from unknown donors before Viktor realized I wasn't what he wanted, I was… am still a failure.'' The girl said, her face filled with sorrow.

''So why me? Why not share this with anyone else?'' I asked annoyed.

''Because you and I can do something that the others can't, I need to know how to control it and how to get rid of it.'' The girl stated. ''And I know you can teach me to at least control it.''

''Give me one good reason why I would teach you how to control the Overdrive…'' I said raising a brow. _''She wants to get rid of the Overdrive? Why?''_

''I don't want any of this, I don't want to hurt people…'' The girl said, sadness marking her words. ''Plus if you help me, I promise I won't go back to Viktor, I'll just disappear and live my own life.''

''You know for some reason I find that really hard to believe, it really just feels like you're making all of this up as the conversation goes on.'' I said putting my helmet back on before turning to leave. ''I don't like to have my time wasted.''

''Wait!'' This time it was the girls turn to slam her hands into the glass. ''I know stuff about Viktor! Please you can't leave yet!''

''You should have thought about that before lying to me.'' I said not facing the glass cube as I made my way up the stairs.

''I didn't lie! I really was created by Viktor to rival you! That's why I have this power!'' The girl yelled while hitting the glass with her fists, over and over again. ''Please don't leave! There something that I have to tell you!''

I turned around to face the glass cube before speaking up again. ''Well? Out with it.''

''Only if you turn off the recording inside that small room and only if I get to whisper it to you.'' The girl said with a grim tone in her voice. ''I need to get this off my chest…'' The girl said with puffy eyes. ''Please…''

''Not happening, enjoy the rest of your life in that cube.'' I said waving to the girl before walking into the recording room where Pete was now sitting instead of Agnes.

''You know that was really cruel… And we could really use that intel on Viktor…'' He said sitting in one of the comfortable chairs.

''I'm not going to teach her, a thirteen-year-old who, a friendly reminder, works with Viktor. How to use something as powerful and dangerous as the Overdrive.'' I said motioning to the girl crying inside the glass cube.

''Then what do you suggest we do with her?'' Pete asked, taking me completely serious. ''We can't keep her here, they'll find her eventually, not to mention the base defenses are not as strong as they're supposed to be…''

''Then we move her, away from here and into a maximum security prison. Let her rot away for a couple of months, let's see if she's willing to talk after that.'' I said with venom in my words as I made my way out of the room.

''Agent Yi you can't be serious, she's only thirteen years old…'' Pete said, jogging after me.

''You asked for my two cents, there you have them chief.'' I said, opening the doors to leave the cell block. ''I'm going back home, I'd rather **not** see you in a few days when Nathalie has her checkup.''

I could hear Pete's footsteps follow me, annoying me a bit. He didn't say anything but it was clear that there was some kind of tension in the air. It almost felt like he silently agreed with me.

''Fine.'' He suddenly said.

''Fine what? Be more specific.'' I said annoyed.

''We'll move her next week, I want you on guard duty.'' Pete said, confirming my suspicion that he low-key agreed with me, bringing a smile to my face. ''But only because she is involved with a international terrorist.''

''How long? And what kind of transport?''

''A few days, tops. We'll move her with an armored convoy, it's a bit more secure than through the air, not to mention cheaper.'' Pete said. ''Happy?'' He asked with a sigh.

''Very. I'll be in touch commander.'' I said, taking a look at my phone.

 _One new message from Agnes._

'' _You need to see this, NOW''_

''I wonder what's so important…'' Yi said a bit skeptical.

''Same here.''

* * *

After checking in the med bay and not finding Agnes, I made my way underground, into her personal laboratory.

''Seems like Agnes had a change of interior…'' Yi said as I checked out a large, headless chassis which was also missing a pair of legs, a large turbine, slowly turning inside the chest of the machine.

''Dang she has been busy with something… big.'' I muttered as I walked pass the chained up chassis.

''Mark! Finally, you're here! Here! Take a seat, you're going to need it!'' Agnes said nearly throwing a chair my way, it seemed like she was in complete shock, like she had seen something that she shouldn't have. ''Come, come, come, you need to see!'' She said as she pulled me towards the large computer screen.

''Agnes calm down, are you trying to take my arm off or something?'' I asked the woman who already let go of me and was busy typing in stuff on the keyboard beneath the screen.

''Mark, how familiar are you with DNA, genetics and all that stuff?'' She asked as the screen displayed a strange frequency which repeated itself constantly.

''I know some stuff, why?'' I asked a but uncertain. ''Also what's that?''

''THAT! Is the Overdrive… well not really but see it as the Overdrive. This is the one that I can link to you, we'll make it orange.'' Agnes explained as the waves became orange. ''Now this is the one that I detected inside the girl's genes, we'll make it blue.'' A blue wave started to flow below my orange one. ''What stands out?''

''It's way weaker, almost non-active.'' I said getting confused. ''I don't understand what-''

''Correct!'' Agnes interrupted me. ''The reason hers is so much weaker is because she only has half of the Overdrive which means that she must have other genes which don't have the Overdrive in them unlike yours which are pure.'' Agnes continued typing in stuff on the pc as percentages began to float next to the waves. ''As you can see your connection is a stable eighty percent when not in use, where hers is only a weak forty percent. So this got me thinking, where did the other half of her genes come from?''

''She said she was genetically engineered…'' I muttered, scratching my chin.

''AHA!'' Agnes yelled. ''That proves that I'm right!'' Agnes yelled as she continued her little presentation. ''Viktor must have found a way to manipulate specific DNA or even combine it to create her!''

''Agnes you're talking mad science right now, you can't actually be serious about this…'' I said getting nervous.

''But I am and I will prove to you that I'm right!'' Agnes said, beginning to open random files on her computer. ''First we take a look at your genes, now let's grab someone else's and let's play around with the results. How about hmmm, Nathalie's?'' Agnes said as our pictures showed up next to their respectable DNA.

''Agnes…''

''Now let's mix and match a bit!'' She said as the pictures of the DNA began to merge. ''And voila! A brand new organism is born from your and Nathalie's DNA.''

To finish it all off Agnes pulled up the results of the DNA that she extracted from the girl to confirm my fear. I looked at the identical double helixes, I couldn't believe my eyes as I realized who the unknown donors were.

''Damn I really am a genius.'' Agnes told herself as she looked at the proof that the girl was in some way me and Nathalie's offspring. ''Mark? Are you ok?'' She turned to me right before my legs gave out from underneath me. ''MARK!''

''I'm fine… I think…'' I muttered as Agnes felt my pulse. ''Just a lot of stuff to process at once…'' I said taking long, deep breaths. ''How…?'' I asked myself.

''Viktor most likely sampled your DNA after… that night… As for Nathalie's I'd say after her run in with Lucian and Yasuo.'' Agnes tried to make sense of it all. ''Come on, take a seat.'' She said lifting me into a chair.

'' _This must be the thing that she wanted to tell me… No wonder she wanted to keep it a secret…''_

''We should fill Nathalie in on this!'' Agnes said suddenly, reaching for her phone.

''NO!'' I yelled through the room. ''I mean… I'll tell her in a few days when she's feeling better. She still needs time to rest, this will only upset her.''

''You want to keep this a secret from the mother of your child?'' Agnes asked with a serious tone in her voice.

''She. Is. Not. Our daughter! I won't believe that!'' I yelled at Agnes. ''I can't believe it…'' I whispered. ''This is all just a cruel joke! Some sort of trick to lower our guards! I just know it!'' I tried to convince myself.

''Mark the proof is right in front of you. She really is… I won't say it again, I promise.'' Agnes said with a sigh. ''Come on let's go outside, get you some fresh air.'' She motioned me to follow her. ''We'll figure something out together.''

* * *

 **BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM**

 **What was that? Minds exploding? Probably not. Eh, I don't mind, can't really be amazed by my shit writing anyway, hehe xd. I can't believe how long it took to write this chapter… So sorry about that.**

 **But I'm back for now! I feel horrible but I finished the chapter, yeah, yeah, I know it's a bit of a short chapter but I just couldn't bring myself to write more atm. I just felt a bit depressed, had some issues I had to work out and I worked my last two weeks before my contract ends so that as well.**

 **I'll try my best to not take so long next time… I actually can't because it's already September (DO YOU REMEMBER? TWENTY FIRST NIGHT!) and I want to take some time off in October to perfect the Halloween chapters for AAT and PE, the whole vacation has just screwed up my whole time lapse of my fics ;-;**

 **But yeah, this chapter… A bit of a set up for upcoming events and finally that reveal that I was working towards, completely ruined by my mood at least it feels that way for me. Well I got it out and didn't take another freaking week, he… he… he…**

 **I got another review from the guest who asked about Mark's hair (I think), so Imma answer your question just like last time since I can't reply to guests in a pm… ;-;**

 **(Not going to copy the whole review this time since it's hella long for me to copy from my main pc screen to my laptop that I use for writing, sowy.)**

 **\- I think I kinda answered your question in this chapter but I'm just going to answer it again :3**

 **So like this chapter explains she is created from Mark and Nathalie's DNA to rival Mark in a way, too bad that she has a little too much human in her and actually wants to get rid of her powers. Viktor knew what he was creating and doesn't have use for Mark anymore since he already has the Overdrive (Chapter 16), at this point he just wants to get Mark out of his way.**

 **(I feel like I didn't explain crap but I'm not really thinking straight atm, sorry if this wasn't all that helpful…)**

 **Talk, talk, talk… SURPRISE DISCORD ADVERTISEMENT!**

 **You guys know the drill! You can enter the Discord channel by typing in: discord dot gg /BWpaKr9**

 **Or PM me if the link doesn't work for you, I'll see what I can do for you!**

 **Just remember to be respectful to others and don't be racist and we can all have a good time k? The channel is filling up with great peeps from all around the world! It's a blast! It could be an even bigger blast with more peeps! So don't hesitate and come join us!**

 **Last but not least of course. Thank you all so much for reading my story, I really hope everyone is still enjoying the story as much as I'm writing it for you guys! It's because of you guys that we have almost reached 7k total views and all that good stuff, I love you all so much!**

 **Just like last time, I'm extremely sorry for the long wait, I WILL TRY to not take so long next time.**

 **Thank you for reading and sticking with the story and I hope to see you all in the next note on the next chapter of any of my fics!**

 **Until next time! Emerald out!**


	28. Chapter 28

PROJECT: Earth

Chapter 28: Bonding

* * *

It had been a couple of days since Agnes and I found out about the girl being me and Nathalie's daughter in one of the strangest ways imaginable.

The nights that followed were harsh, every single night I would dream about her sitting in her cage for the rest of her life, about telling Nathalie and it tearing us apart.

'' _Did I really just get my only daughter locked up?''_

'' _No, stop thinking like that. She's not my daughter… Right?''_

'' _I can't believe I haven't told Nath yet.''_

Today we're moving her away from the base and cross country to a high-security prison where we locked up Yasuo a few months ago. For the first time in a long time, I was actually afraid.

* * *

''Are you sure you want to proceed with this?'' Nathalie put her hand on my shoulder as we watched the cubical cell with the girl inside getting loaded into an armored truck. ''I'm sure we could always ask Pete if Damian can accompany the convoy…''

''And have him come over here on his weekend off duty? Nath, he has to go to school during the week.'' I tried reasoning with Nathalie. ''The time that we spend training and doing paperwork, he spends in a classroom.'' I explained to her.

''I knoooow but what if I need your help with something?'' Nathalie asked, running her hand over the side of my face, forcing me to look at her. ''I'll even let you help me with washing.'' She said giving me the most seductive look she could manage.

''Nath, you're going to be fine. You just had your check-up and Agnes said you didn't need to use those pills anymore.'' I said pulling her closer to me, giving her a kiss.

''I know I can take care of myself but… I'll miss you.'' She purred while letting out a long sigh. ''Since my sexiness won't even change your mind, you better bring me back something nice from the trip.''

''Oh please, I'll only be gone for a couple of days, it's nothing serious.'' I said raising my eyebrow. ''Just give me a call anytime you feel lonely or ask for a pic of course.''

''Am I allowed to ask for sexy pics?'' Nathalie asked giving me a wink.

''Please don't send those kinds of pictures to each other again, those pictures also pass by me if you were wondering…'' Yi said letting out a huff, making us laugh.

''Shhh, they don't know that! Why do you always have to spoil my fun!'' Leona said, her voice coming from Nathalie's phone before a pair of footsteps came up behind us.

''Mark? Are you in here?'' Agnes interrupted our talk, walking into the small room. ''Cooper and his men are getting ready to leave soon, can I have a word with you in private before you leave?''

Both I and Nathalie turned around, smiling at the doctor. ''Well… I guess this is it.'' I said turning back to Nathalie who gave me a sad smile. ''Hey, chin up, it's just going to be a few days.'' I said with a smile.

''I'll make sure to look after him Nathalie, I promise.'' Yi said calmly, making Nathalie crack a small smile.

''I know you will Yi, make sure he brings me back something nice.'' Nathalie said winking at me. ''And make sure he takes good care of himself! I don't want a stinky boyfriend!''

''You two stay save!'' Leona said, cheerful as ever. ''And don't worry Mark, I'll also look after Nathalie. Not that, that's such a hard job…'' She said making all of us share a laugh.

*Sigh* ''Well… I suppose he's all yours Agnes.'' Nathalie said, giving me one last quick kiss before taking her leave. ''Have a safe trip Mark.'' She said turning back to me in the doorway one last time before closing the doors.

''You haven't told her yet have you?'' Agnes asked with a bored expression.

''How did you guess that?'' I asked her with a confused look on my face. ''I mean you're right but what gave it away?''

''The way she acted, the way you two talk and the way you look.'' Agnes said raising her eyebrow at me. ''You look like you've been lacking sleep.''

''That I have, just like how I haven't found the right moment to tell her about our daughter yet...'' I said with a nod and a sigh. ''So what did you want to talk about?''

''I made you something for when you're fused.'' Agnes said with a smile, handing me gift-wrapped item. ''I know yours and Nathalie's birthdays are coming up so I came up with something practical.'' Agnes explained.

I unwrapped the gift and pulled out a gray and orange sheath. ''A sheath? For my blade? Sweet!'' I said inspecting the tool.

''When you had your talk with the girl the other day, you left your blade with me. If something had happened you would have been unarmed, so I made a sheath with some help from Yi.'' Agnes said proudly.

''Wait you needed help creating a simple sheath?'' I asked with a grin on my face.

''Well it does need to fit the armor so I had to replicate the metal and make it compatible with your armor.'' Agnes explained. ''Those Zaunites have some pretty impressive and complicated tech.''

''Even for some of the brightest Ionian scientists, the Zaunite coding and technology is just too advanced to crack, but not for Agnes.'' Yi said cheerfully.

''You two are kidding, right? You're like… the smartest person I know.'' I complimented the brilliant doctor. ''It couldn't have been that hard.''

''Oh shush.'' Agnes said waving off the comment and taking a look at her watch. ''You better get going.'' She said pushing me towards the armored truck where the holding cell got loaded into. ''And be careful with that sheath it was a lot of work.''

''I will don't worry, I'll be back within a few days.'' I said waving as I slung my bag over my shoulder, walking into the armored truck.

The inside of the truck wasn't what I expected. It had some pretty luxurious seats which could turn a full three-sixty degree with small tables build in to put something like a laptop on. In between the seats and the driver was a special metal cell with the girl inside, the only thing inside the cell being a small bed on the ground with a blanket and a pillow for the girl.

As I walked up to my seat the girl looked up with a sad look on her face, filled with regret and sorrow. Deep down I wanted to get her out and just talk to her, maybe try to convince her to fight with us instead of Viktor, but that didn't seem to be her plan.

''You ready for a road trip kid?'' Cooper asked with a smile as I took a seat next to him, putting my bag next to my seat.

''Sure am, oh man I'm beat. I hope you don't mind me sleeping on the way over.'' I said stretching my arms as one of the men closed the door to the truck and the engine started. ''I haven't been sleeping well the past few days…''

''Not at all, I might catch some z's myself.'' Cooper said, flashing a smile. ''If we're making a stop do you want me to wake you up?'' He asked me as the truck began to move.

''Uh… Sure, I need to stretch my legs every now and then anyway.'' I said taking out a pair of earbuds and plugging them into my phone.

''Got it.'' Cooper said relaxing in his seat. ''Oh and please do the same just in case you wake up before me.'' He said putting on a pair of shades.

''Sure.'' I said as I opened my music library. _''Let's see what Nathalie put in my travel playlist.''_ I thought to myself as I selected the renamed playlist to ''Nath3'' with a bunch of kissy faces. The change making me chuckle as I began to listen to one of her favorite love songs, slowly drifting off to sleep.

* * *

''HOW COULD YOU NOT HAVE TOLD ME SOMETHING LIKE THIS!?'' Nathalie screamed at me. ''WHEN WERE YOU GOING TO TELL ME SOMETHING LIKE THIS!?'' She yelled.

''Nath I-'' I tried to reason with her as she picked up a lamp from her nightstand and threw it at me, forcing me to dodge the object. ''NATHALIE!''

''DON'T YOU 'NATHALIE' ME YOU BASTARD!'' She continued yelling as she walked up to me, beginning to hit me, tears streaming down her face. ''I thought we would… tell each other everything… I trusted you.'' She began to cry as her beating me became less.

''Nathalie I-I… I wanted to tell you earlier but you were in such bad shape… I just couldn't.'' I said holding her balled fists.

''You're pathetic…'' She muttered as she pushed me away.

''You were still recovering from your injuries! I didn't want you to worry!'' I yelled getting angry with her. ''All I did was to keep you from worrying!''

Nathalie just rubbed her eyes from the tears, shaking her head in denial. ''I can't do this.'' She said as she began taking clothes out of the closet in our bedroom.

''W-what are you doing?'' I asked afraid.

''What does it look like? I'm leaving!'' She yelled as she stuffed some clothes into a bag before walking out of the bedroom.

''Nathalie come back here! You can't just walk out on me! Where will you go?!'' I yelled as she grabbed ahold of the doorknob. ''Hey! Listen to me!'' I yelled grabbing her other hand.

''LET GO OF ME!'' She screamed before freeing her hand and slamming the bag into my face.

I felt my face, blood running down my forehead and vision shaking like I was hit with a brick. As my vision cleared I saw Nathalie's figure almost run down the stairs in the hallway outside of the apartment.

''Nath… Come back…'' I said, weakly raising my hand towards the fading figure.

''Kid, wake up. Mark get up, we're making a stop for a quick bite to eat.'' I heard Cooper say as he carefully began shaking me.

''Nathalie… Don't go…'' I muttered as I slowly woke up from my nightmare. ''Oh! Cooper! Sorry I was…'' I tried to get out before He interrupted me.

''Having a bad dream.'' He said before walking out of the truck, waiting on me in the doorway. ''I get it, you're worried about her but didn't the doctor say she was going to be alright?'' He asked.

For a moment I ignored what Cooper asked and took a look at the girl in the cage. She was sitting in the corner of her cage on top of the pillow on her makeshift bed, holding her knees close to her. The sad look on her face never leaving her eyes just stared towards the ground.

''Mark? You okay?'' Cooper asked again, snapping me out of my trance.

''Yeah, uh… Nathalie was doing great actually.'' I said with a large smile, scratching the back of my head awkwardly earning a confused look from Cooper. ''Where are we going to get something to eat? I'm starving for some reason…'' I said following the commando out of the truck before stretching my arms and legs.

''Well we have been driving for almost eight hours now so I wouldn't be surprised if you were.'' Cooper said chuckling. ''As for dinner, my guys wanted to get some burgers at that place over there.'' He said pointing at a fast food restaurant.

We walked into the crowded restaurant. Most of the booths were filled with all different sorts of people. Some with parents and their children, some with teenagers, others with regular customers if I had to guess by their body.

''Aw man, it's been so long since I've been to a place like this… Nath and I mostly cook together or we get takeout when we're feeling lazy.'' I laughed nervously as I looked at the menu.

''I got you covered bud, I'll get you something good.'' Cooper said nudging me. ''Perk of having two little angels at home, kids love these restaurants so I have a bit of an idea of what to get.'' He said with a small smile.

My smile faded as he mentioned his kids, the feeling from earlier coming back, making me want to go into the truck and let the girl out or at least try to talk to her again.

Coopers guys waved us over, motioning for us to come join them. ''Give us a minute boys, we still need to order.'' Cooper said with a smile as he turned towards the young woman behind the register and ordered some food for the both of us.

I followed Cooper to the booth that his men were sitting at, waiting for our food. My mind started drifting back to the girl locked in the truck, making me feel bad for not offering her any food. _This feels wrong… She's just a child…_

'' _Maybe you should talk to her again.''_ Yi suggested mentally as a waitress came up and handed Cooper the food he ordered.

'' _I was planning on doing so.''_ I said before turning to the young waitress. ''Excuse me miss? Could you wrap mine up to go?'' I asked as she nodded and took half of the food.

''Wait you're ditching us?'' Cooper asked, pretending to sound hurt.

''I remember why I barely visit these places.'' I said, faking to feel sick. ''I always get nauseous from the smell of the fryers.'' I said pointing at the kitchen behind the counter.

''Heh, my wife has the same problem.'' One of the men sitting at the booth said. ''It's probably better if you sit outside in that case.''

''Thanks for understanding guys, next time I'll try and sit with you.'' I gave them a quick nod as the waitress handed me a brown bag with the food in it.

After thanking Cooper for ordering me some food, I quickly left the restaurant and walked back to the truck only to realize that it was locked. ''Dammit, I should have asked for the keys…'' I said annoyed.

''Eh Mark?'' Yi asked confused. ''I can unlock the door easily?'' He said as the orange light left my phone and the lock on the truck unlocked. ''Got it.'' He said victoriously as I walked into the truck.

''What do you want?'' The girl asked, her eyes never meeting mine as she remained motionless in the corner of her cell.

''I… was wondering if you had anything to eat yet.'' I said hesitantly, the silence in the truck was a clear sign that she didn't. ''I brought some food if you want.''

''For all I know it's poisoned.'' The girl said giving me an angry look. ''I don't need your help, your food or your sympathy. Please leave me alone.'' She said before her stomach growled loudly.

''Your tummy doesn't seem to agree.'' I said with a small smile as I opened the bag, the smell of the fast food beginning to fill the truck.

''My what?'' The girl asked confused as her stomach began to growl even louder as the smell probably spread to her side of truck as well. ''Never mind, please leave…''

''I can hear your stomach growl from over here… I'm not leaving until you've eaten something.'' I explained to the girl while taking a fry out of the bag and ate it. ''You *munch* sure you don't want some? It would be a shame if I had to throw all of this food out'' I asked, my mouth filled with food.

''N-no…'' She said hesitantly as I noticed her carefully move closer towards the bars of her cell.

''Here just try some of it, have you ever had something like fast food before?'' I asked the girl while sliding the bag with food through the bars of her cell.

I watched as the small girl slowly made her way towards the bag before grabbing it and smelling its contents. A small smile forming on my face as she carefully took a bite of a fry. Slow but surely she began eating a bit faster, greedily eating the food.

''Poor thing, you must be starving…'' I muttered, giving her a sad look as she turned to me, her mouth filled with food.

''I haven't eaten in a while… Why would you share this with me? I lied to you and tried to kill you.'' The girl asked before resuming eating the food, starting with the hamburger.

'' _Because you're my daughter and I want to get to know you, I hope to find a way to get you out of this situation...''_ A part of me said before I tugged it away, back into the back of my head.

''I just… felt bad for you, you're still young and you need to eat on a regular basis otherwise you could get sick.'' I lied to her with a frown.

''Thank you for worrying about me but I'm perfectly healthy, bored, but healthy.'' She said licking the sauce off of her fingers before continuing eating the burger.

''I have something that could help pass the time.'' I said grabbing my bag and beginning to search for my earbuds before pulling them out. ''Here, plug these into my phone and choose some music that you think you'll like, then just put the red parts into your ears.'' I instructed, handing her my phone and earbuds. ''It's not like you can do anything with it since Yi will literally block you from anything else anyway.''

''Thank you…'' The girl said with a grateful smile while doing as instructed. ''There is something that I want to tell you…'' She said as she finished eating the hamburger in the bag. ''It's what I wanted to tell you before, but I didn't get a chance back then.'' She said, her face turning into a grim one.

''Anything.'' I said quickly, giving her space to tell whatever she wanted to say.

''There you are! We've been looking all over for you.'' Cooper said leaning against the door of the truck. ''Wait what are you doing? Why does she have your phone!?'' Cooper asked alarmed.

''It's fine Coop, we just talked for a bit, let her have the phone and the earbuds. She's bored.'' I explained as Cooper relaxed slightly.

''If you say so...'' He said, his eyes never leaving the girl sitting in her cell, fumbling with the wires of the earbuds. ''But you're looking after her, you give her your stuff that means she's your responsibility to look after.'' Cooper said with a serious tone in his voice.

''Got it, boss.'' I said saluting him while shooting a quick wink at the girl who in return gave me a small smile before starting to put the earbuds in.

''All right, everybody strap in, we're leaving. We still have one hell of a drive before we reach our destination.'' Cooper began to order around his men as the engine of the truck started again.

'' _Dammit, what awful timing you have Cooper…''_

* * *

We had been driving for hours, we had left the city and were now driving on a little-deserted road going through farmland to the left and right of us.

A slight drizzle came pouring down on the truck. The sound of the rain hitting the metal of the roof was slightly hypnotic and relaxing before the truck suddenly started to break.

''Why are we stopping?'' Cooper asked alarmed as he undid his seatbelt.

''Something on the road sir.'' One of the drivers said while turning off the engine.

''I don't like this…'' Cooper said as he opened a case and pulled out a pair of ballistic vests and put one on. ''Gear up and stack up on me. Mark, you know what to do.''

I gave Cooper a nod and put my hands through the bars of the cell, motioning to the girl to give me back my phone. At first, she looked at my hand sleepily since she had fallen asleep while listening to music but after a moment she handed me my phone with a confused face.

After fusing with Yi, I got out of the truck and walked up to our escort vehicle, tapping on the glass of the driver's seat window. After signaling the men in the car, I walked up to the makeshift roadblock while activating my com.

''Cooper… I got eyes on what's blocking our path.'' I said nervously.

''Well? What is it?'' He asked annoyed.

''A pile of destroyed cars.'' I said, slowly taking my blade from the sheath that Agnes had made for me. ''I don't like this at all.''

''Do you think you can move it for us?'' Cooper asked. ''It would save us a lot of time if you could.''

''I know, I'll see what I can do.'' I said with a huff as I walked up to the destroyed cars.

I took a good look at the cars, trying to find anything that might hint at what caused these cars to end up this way.

''Mark this doesn't look like something a normal human being could have done…'' Yi said calmly as I trailed my hands over the deep cuts in the side of the cars.

''It doesn't seem like people got hurt for some reason…'' I muttered to myself as I inspected the large holes in either the top of the cars or the back of the cars. ''Yi what are you implying? What could have done this?''

''Judging by the damage I would say it is a Battlecast who did this, but the damage doesn't add up…'' Yi said in thought. ''The Cho'Gath units are too large, The Vel'Koz units don't leave holes like these and the Urgot units aren't finished yet…''

''The Kha'Zix mecha's?'' I suggested as something in the wheat fields moved, making the fields rustle. ''Did you hear that?''

''Yes I did-'' Yi was interrupted by a machine shooting out of the fields, jumping onto the first escort vehicle, digging it's buzzsaws into the vehicle, destroying it.

After destroying the escort vehicle, the Battlecast turned to the main truck which was already in full reverse, trying to escape the machine.

''Abduction protocol in effect. High-value target detected, capture protocol in effect.'' The Battlecast said shooting a plasma burst into the front of the truck with the girl in it, disabling the engine.

I rushed to the escort vehicle that the Battlecast had destroyed with its buzzsaws. I looked inside the truck in horror as the men inside were already dead, I held back the urge to vomit at how the poor soldiers were left after the attack before turning to the Skarner Battlecast which was cutting open the roof of the truck

''Marking a high-value target for impalemen-'' Skarner stopped talking as it staggered forward, my blade sticking out of his tail. ''PROJECT detected, setting priority, **DESTROY.** '' The Battlecast said, dropping the truck on its side and turning to me. ''Reinforcing hull for combat.''

''That might be a problem.'' I said as the machine now charged me instead of the truck.

Skarner began to move faster and close the gap between me and him before using one of his buzzsaws to try and cut me in half. I dodged the attack only to almost get hit with the other twirling buzzsaw, barely blocking that with my blade.

''I'll cut that toothpick in half.'' The Battlecast chuckled as he pressed his other saw against the blade making sparks fly off of it.

'' _At this rate the blade will break! We need a plan!''_ Yi said mentally as I cast Alpha Strike, breaking the lock with Skarner.

''Working on it!'' I yelled, using Highlander running towards the pile of cars that were stacked up to block the road. ''Hey rust bucket! Over here!'' I waved towards the machine.

''Taunt received, your survival is a delusion.'' The Battlecast said as it made its way towards me. ''Prepare for removal of armor scum.'' Skarner said as it fired its stinger towards me.

I dodged the projectile which embedded itself into one of the destroyed cars on the pile and pulled it over me and into the Battlecast making it screech as the destroyed car connected with Skarner, knocking him over.

''Heh, stupid machine.'' I said running past the knocked over Battlecast and into the tipped over car. ''Cooper! You still alive in there?''

''I'll live…'' He said loading his weapon. ''So a new Battlecast? Or did you take care of it?''

''I'm not sure… but just in case things go bad, hand the girl her phone, she can help.'' I said hesitantly. ''I know it goes against your orders but I know she can do some good.'' I said looking towards the girl in the cage who looked at me with surprised eyes.

''What!? Are you crazy?! She'll turn on us the first chance she gets!'' Cooper yelled making the girl frown at him.

''This Battlecast is her for her and it doesn't look like a very cute and cuddly machine of death so how do you think that thing will take her? My guess is impaled!'' I reasoned with Cooper. ''I know you won't turn on us… Proof me rig- AAGH!''

''You're coming with me.'' The Battlecast called out, its stinger piercing my shoulder armor and pulling me away from the truck. ''Target marked for disassembly.'' It said while moving its buzzsaws closer to me.

* * *

''AAGH!'' Mark yelled as he was pulled away from us, grabbing the stinger that shot through his shoulder, trying to pull it out again before being pulled away.

''MARK!'' The soldier known as Cooper yelled, trying to grab a hold of Mark before he got pulled away. He looked towards me a few times, then back towards the Battlecast which was going to kill Mark and us if this continued.

He reached for a metal suitcase and unlocked it with a number code. Inside was the device that housed the Frost Archer and made it able for me to use her PROJECT armor.

*Sigh* ''I can't believe I'm doing this…'' Cooper said taking the phone out and throwing it my way. ''I might lose my job for doing this but I might as well since he seems to trust you…'' He said unlocking the door to my cell with a keycard.

''Security override detected. Cpt. J. Cooper.'' A voice said as the door to the cell opened.

''Well? What are you waiting for? GO!'' The soldier yelled at me as I fused with Ashe, the familiar armor covering my body.

'' _What's the plan?''_ Ashe asked as always, not getting a reply from me as usual.

I jumped out of the truck and took a look at the situation. Mark was dangling above the Battlecast's buzzsaws…

''The saws spin at approximately 100 rounds per second… A well-placed burst of arrows might be able to stop the spinning, but that might unchain the saw and cut into his legs.'' I muttered before letting out a sigh and fired a burst of arrows into the metal plating next to the Battlecast's head.

''High-value target detected, retrieving target.'' The Battlecast dropped what it was doing, leaving Mark dangling from the stinger, trying to free himself.

'' _Sever the chain on the end of its tail?''_ Ashe suggested.

''Impossible, it's made of a special metal which would take to much ammo to destroy, I have to choose my fight carefully.'' I muttered dodging a plasma burst from the canon above Skarner's head. ''That's it! The cannon!''

''Come small one… The Creator wants you back.'' The Battlecast said making its way towards me. Its words stunning me.

'' _Don't fall for its lies! Don't go back to that life!''_ Ashe protested as the Battlecast threw itself forward, lunging with its buzzsaws.

''Alive or in pieces, you're coming back to him.'' It said as I jumped back, firing a burst of arrows into its armored head, barely dealing damage due to the enhanced armor covering Skarner. ''Stop running organic.''

''He's trying to kill you! What are you doing just standing there?!'' Mark yelled hanging from the stinger. ''If I could just… get down... Dammit-AGH''

I hopped around, avoiding the Battlecast's attacks while firing arrow after arrow into its armor. I noticed Mark struggling to get the stinger out of his shoulder, annoying me. ''I'm trying to help you! Stop yanking at that chain, you'll rip your arm off!'' I yelled at him getting annoyed.

''You're not escaping this time.'' The Battlecast chuckled, lunging while shooting a plasma bolt at the same time, making it harder for me to dodge.

As the buzzsaw got closer, I hopped on top of the arm holding the saw in place before launching myself up, grabbing Mark's leg making him grunt in pain.

''How is this helping?!'' He yelled in pain.

''BURST MODE!'' I yelled making the bow glow blue and open a sight to help me aim as Ashe activated Ranger's focus, firing short bursts of arrows into the cannon, making it explode. The Battlecast went up in flames, sending parts flying in all directions.

Mark and I got launched into a nearby cornfield, crushing some of the young corn. I groaned in pain as I felt a headache hit me. After a moment and got up slowly, shaking off the dizziness before turning to Mark who seemed to have lost consciousness.

*Sigh* ''Of course…'' I said as he defused, the stinger still impaled through his shoulder. ''This might hurt… a lot.'' I said yanking the stinger out of his shoulder, not getting a response from the unconscious man.

''Are you sure that was a good idea?'' A voice asked coming from Mark's pocket. ''The wound might get infected.''

''I know what I'm doing. The stinger of this model has a virus in its metal, preventing him from rapidly healing the wound. Viktor was prepared for him to be here…'' I said annoyed.

''That might be a problem.'' Yi said deep in thought.

''It is going to be a real big problem if I don't fix him up soon.'' I said getting up with a grunt as I began carrying his body. ''Maybe if I walk back to the convoy… No, I'll be captured again.''

''Location send, reinforcements incoming.'' The severed head of the Battlecast muttered near us, startling me. ''H-H-H-H-a-a-a-a… Error detected…'' It said before turning off, the lights turning off, a few sparks coming from its neck.

''Well that's a good enough reason to keep walking.'' I said walking through the crops, feeling the headache become worse. ''Ugh… not again.''

'' _Let's defuse, you'll probably be able to walk a bit further without the armor wearing you out.''_ Ashe suggested as the armor disappeared in a blue flash of light.

'' _It's probably better this way anyway…''_

* * *

I forgot how long I had been walking. Due to it being night and me not being able to see anything through the crops. My headache had gotten way worse, forcing me to stop every now and then to catch my breath.

''Who's there?'' A voice asked as a light was pointed at my face, nearly blinding me. ''S'cuse me kiddo, what are you doing in my field?'' The voice asked, the light moving away from my face.

'' _This is my chance.''_

''Please sir! M-My… brother and I… We got in a car accident! He's really hurt!'' I faked my fear, hoping the man would help me.

''Oh dear… Let me help you!'' The man said, taking Mark from my shoulders and putting him in the back of his truck. ''Hop into the back and make sure he stays in there! I'll drive you to my home!''

''T-Thank you sir.'' I nodded, slowly getting into the pick-up truck as the man began to drive off.

* * *

 **Eyooooo! Guess who's back? Back again?**

 **Slim Shady!? Oh, it's just me… Carry on, nothing to see here. JK! I'm back with a new chapter for you guys. I love how last time I said that I was back to stay, but look at the time a whole month without a word… Sorry. Also sorry for the short ass chapter, but I feel like if I force myself to write more it will turn out like a complete mess… Please don't hate me ;-;**

 **I haven't really been feeling like myself or feeling like writing at all lately. I also completely forgot about Destiny 2 coming out in September and the fact that I was really looking forward to playing the living shit out of it. (Like I did lul)**

 **I'm still planning on writing the Halloween special for you guys but it's going to be a tight squeeze at this point. But believe in me, I'll make it! I'm not sure when the next chapter will be out but keep an eye out for it!**

 **You guys know the drill! You can enter the Discord channel by typing in: discord dot gg /BWpaKr9**

 **Just remember to be respectful to others and don't be racist and we can all have a good time k? We got multiple authors in the channel, just dying to answer any questions you have for them! And a lot of other readers who are super fun to be around, so come join us for even more fun!**

 **I want to thank you guys for being so patient with me and sticking with the story! Honestly, I'm going to work as fast as I can on the next chapter, but I can't make any promises since I am not feeling well at the moment.**

 **Until next time!**

 **Emerald out!**


	29. Chapter 29

PROJECT: Earth

Chapter 29: Cathy

* * *

''Psst… Nathalie…'' Leona called out inside the bedroom. ''Psssst… Wake up!...'' *Sigh* ''You're not going to stop kissing that pillow so I might as well.''

''Nathalie! Hey! Wake up! It's urgent!'' Leona's voice rang through my head, waking me up instantly.

''I wasn't sniffing your pillow!'' I yelled while quickly throwing Mark's pillow across our bedroom before the realization hit me. ''Leona what the hell?! Don't you know what time it is?''

''Finally, you're up… And yes I do know what time it is.'' Leona said cheekily. ''You need to check your phone right now! It's… bad…'' Leona said with a worried tone in her voice.

''What are you on about-'' I cut myself off, covering my mouth with my free hand out of shock as I read the message I received from Agnes. ''Oh my god… Mark…''

\- New message from: Agnes.

\- _''The convoy has been ambushed by a Battlecast, multiple reports of K.I.A. and two reported M.I.A.''_

''Now you have a guess who the two missing people are…'' Leona said nervously, her yellow light returning to my phone.

''No… Mark…'' I whispered into my hand. ''No! This is no time for sitting around! We have to go looking for him!'' I yelled, throwing the bed covers off of myself.

''Nathalie… you just recovered.'' Leona tried reasoning with me.

''I couldn't care less! I need to do all that I can to find him! Who knows what that little shit is doing to him right now!'' I said getting up from my bed before grabbing a clean set of clothes and my motorcycle outfit, running into the bathroom with them. ''Leona send Agnes a message, tell her we're on our way.''

''Nathalie…'' Leona tried to argue with me, but I couldn't just wait and see, I had to be out there looking for him.

''NOW LEONA!'' I ordered with anger in my voice. ''I don't have time for you trying to talk me out of this.'' I said while getting ready to leave the apartment, fixing my clothes underneath my motorcycle outfit. ''If we leave now, we could be at the base in twenty minutes if traffic isn't too bad, which I don't expect since it's pass midnight… The worst part is going to be getting permission to leave, that might take a couple of hour-'' I began muttering to myself before Leona cut me off.

''NATHALIE STOP AND LISTEN!'' Leona yelled, her voice coming from the soundbar underneath our television, getting my attention. ''Please… think about yourself for once…'' She said with a brittle voice.

''But what if-'' I tried speaking up before Leona cut me off again.

''No Nathalie. I know how you feel right now, but… the best thing we can do right now is to stay calm and don't let our emotions get the better of us.'' Leona explained calmly, the sadness never leaving her voice.

''But what if we leave now? We could be at the ambush site within hours and look for him or even provide support for the soldiers there…'' I suggested, still trying to convince Leona to come with me.

''Agnes just send another message, saying that backup has already deployed. Right now they're fighting off a couple of Battlecasts.'' Leona said weakly. ''We're already too late.

''B-But… We should be out there fighting with them!'' I said, realizing that we wouldn't be able to help.

''I agree with you, but Agnes also says that she wants us on the search party that is going to look for Mark and that girl tomorrow afternoon.'' Leona explained calmly. ''That and you really need to rest a bit more, you're not fully healed yet.''

I waited in the middle of the apartment for a short moment, looking at a few framed pictures of me and Mark from our vacation. The thought of me being too late to help bringing tears to my eyes as I turned around, taking off my motorcycle outfit and putting it on the couch before walking back into the bedroom, closing the door behind me.

''It's not fair Leo…'' I said fighting to hold back the tears in my eyes. ''I just want to help but these stupid injuries keep coming back to bite me…'' I muttered while slowly taking off some of the clothes and putting them next to the bed.

''I know sweetie but you should try to get some rest for now.'' Leona suggested as I nodded and picked up Mark's pillow that lay on the bedroom floor. ''We'll find him tomorrow, I'm just sure of it.''

''I suppose we don't have any other choice…'' I whispered while hugging Mark's pillow, the familiar smell of him helping me relax before slowly dozing off back to sleep.

 _I'll find you… No matter what happens._

* * *

The last few rays of sunshine crept through the bedroom, carefully making their way onto the covers of the bed and into my face, slowly helping me wake up from my sleep.

''Ugh…'' I groaned as I woke up before instantly reaching for my shoulder, a jolt of pain shooting through my whole arm. ''Yi? Anyone? Hello?'' I asked confused. ''No one around I suppose…''

After the pain in my shoulder eased down a bit I realized I wasn't in a familiar bed or a familiar room either, making me worry slightly.

''What the- Where am I?'' I asked myself before taking a quick glance around the room.

I lay in what looked like a really old bed covered with homemade, woolen blankets. The room itself was pretty plain. Aside from the old handmade clock on the wall and a painting of a dog in a cornfield, there really wasn't much special about the room.

As I got ready to leave the bed, I noticed a small table with a note on it next to the bed. '' _What do we have here?''_ I thought to myself as I took a seat next to the bed and unfolded the note before reading it.

'' _I don't know if I'll still be around once you wake up, but if I'm not, please tell the people who live here the truth. They believe I am your sister and that we were in a car accident. I needed them to help me so I could treat your shoulder._

 _By the time you wake up, the wound on your shoulder must have healed a little bit, the damage left by the Skarner Battlecast was pretty bad, not to mention that you were infected with a virus that will prevent you from rapidly healing. I'm sure your allies can find a cure for it._

 _Please don't come looking for me, It will only mean a lot more trouble for the both of us.''_

''Hmm… For a genetically created daughter of mine, she truly gets her handwriting from her mother.'' I muttered before stuffing the note into my pocket. ''I should probably find out where I am… or if she's still around.''

I opened the door to the room I was in and was met with a staircase going down. The old wooden stairs creaked underneath my weight with every step, making me think that the whole thing might collapse sooner than expected.

''Well good afternoon to you, young man.'' An old woman in a pink apron said startling me a bit. ''I'm glad you're finally up, I was starting to worry about you.''

''Uh, hi. Thank you so much for letting us stay here for a while.'' I quickly thanked the lady in the apron, who in return gave me a friendly smile.

''No need to thank me, dearie, your little sister has already done so much to repay us that we should be thanking you at this point.'' The lady laughed. ''Oh, where are my manors? Come sit for a moment.'' The woman said pointing at some old furniture, taking a seat in an old rocking chair.

''M-My sister… How is she doing?'' I asked carefully, hoping to hear that the girl was still around.

''I think she went and helped my husband with the cattle.'' The woman explained. ''After my husband took you two here last night she offered the help around the farm for a bit to repay us.''

''So she's still here? That's amazing!'' I said with a large smile, making the woman raise an eyebrow in confusion.

''She was debating on taking her leave earlier today but I convinced her to stay a bit longer after offering her a warm meal.'' The woman explained with a chuckle. ''Poor girl was starving. When was the last time you two sat down for a decent meal?''

''Eh… I eh…. Don't remember…'' I told the lady, making her frown.

''You should really take better care of your little sister, she's a good child. Heck, she managed to fix your shoulder up all by herself yesterday evening.'' The woman said motioning towards my shoulder.

''She's talented alright.'' I agreed with the woman, letting out a chuckle while thinking back to when she used the Overdrive and how surprised I was.

''Martha? You in here?'' A male voice asked as a door shut in another part of the house. ''Oh, excuse me for bargin in on your conversation, I didn't know our other guest was awake.'' A man said, while tipping his large cowboy hat at me.

''Phillip have you seen his sister around? I guessed she was with you since she offered to help you with the cattle.'' Martha asked her husband, making him nod a few times.

''Yup, we finished that choir about an hour ago, I told her that she was free to do whatever. I think she went and played around with Skipper.'' Phillip said chuckling. ''She reminds me a lot of our son when he was younger.'' He explained with a smile.

''Good to hear that she hasn't been too much of a bother.'' I said with a smile. ''But if you don't mind, I'm going to talk to my sister for now. I need to discuss a few things with her.'' I said getting up from my chair.

''She should be around the old barn somewhere, pretty hard to miss.'' Phillip said, pointing me in the right direction.

I opened the back door to the farmhouse, leaving the old couple to their conversation as I slowly made my way towards the old red barn close to the home.

As I passed the corner of the barn I thought I could make out the faint sound of giggles and excited barking. The sounds making me walk a bit faster out of curiosity.

I crossed my arms and leaned against the large barn door, a large smile making its way onto my face as I was met with a truly wholesome sight. The girl sat in the grass laughing and holding what looked like an old ball up in the air while a beautiful black and white Border Collie hopped around her playfully, its tail wagging wildly as it waited for her to throw the ball.

''Go, Skipper! Fetch!'' The girl yelled excitedly as she threw the ball as far away as she could, making the dog chase after the ball.

''Pretty good throw for someone your age.'' I complimented, making my way over to the girl, startling her and making her turn around.

''You're up!'' The girl said with a small smile before correcting herself. ''I-I mean… you're up… I guess.'' She said quickly, trying to sound disinterested.

''No need to sound so distant. I know you care deep down, even if it's only a little bit.'' I said with a small smile.

''Well I did save your life so you owe me big time.'' She grinned at me as I took a seat next to her.

''How does not instantly turning you in sound? Would that make for a good exchange? My life for your freedom?'' I asked her with a serious face, making her gulp loudly. ''I'm just kidding, don't worry.''

''Isn't it your job to turn me in though?'' The girl asked confused. ''Not that you could beat me in your current condition of course.''

''It is, but…. There's more to you than the other people that side with Viktor.'' I said looking at the dog which made its way back to us. ''How right am I?'' I asked the girl as the dog dropped the ball near her and began sniffing my pants.

''I was always told that I was different… Someone told me that it was in a good way, the other told me it was in a bad way and I just don't know what to think about it…'' She explained while fidgeting with the ball as the dog laid down in the grass, waiting for her to throw it again.

''Well… Does it feel like you're doing the right thing by following Viktor's orders?'' I asked, carefully looking towards the girl who was deep in thought about the question.

''…N-No… but I have to.'' She said looking down at her feet. ''He gave me this life and he won't hesitate to take it away from me.'' The girl whispered before throwing the ball again, making the dog run after the object.

''You could always rebel against him and join us if you want.'' I suggested with a small smile. ''I know I'd gladly teach you some things about the Overdrive if you were on our side, but I can't trust someone who won't even tell me her name…''

''I don't have a name! I told you before!'' The girl said getting annoyed. ''Not everything I say is a lie you know!?'' The girl said getting angry with me.

''Viktor didn't give you a name? You just said Viktor created you right? Why wouldn't he give you a name?'' I asked her, trying to avoid making her angry.

''We're expendable, why would he grow attached to something that he can just replicate in a few weeks' time?'' She asked herself. ''He created me, but he's definitely not my father… Even if I believed that he was for the longest time…''

''What's that supposed to mean?'' I asked her, playing dumb.

''Mark… What I'm going to tell you might shock you but it's what I wanted to tell you before many times… Please try to not freak out.'' She said looking my way for the first time in a short time, the fact that she used my actual name catching my attention. ''When I mentioned the unknown DNA donors those days ago… during the interrogation… Well, I lied.''

''Why doesn't that surprise me at all?'' I said interrupting the girl her story and making her glare at me.

''Mark!... You and Nathalie are those donors, I don't know how or why but… you're my… D-Dad…'' The girl explained before nervously awaiting my reaction.

''It seems like you can trust you somewhat.'' I said, making the girl's eyes go wide.

''Y-YOU KNEW!?'' She yelled in shock.

''One of the many pros of having a super genius friend who's very curious about where you came from.'' I said shrugging with a smile. ''The revelation has been troubling me for days and nights though…''

''I've been trying to tell you all this time and you knew?!'' The girl asked with a hurt expression. ''I can't believe you just did something like this to me…''

''Well… It was up to you to trust me and tell me… that takes guts, I respect that.'' I said with a small smile. ''Is that why you saved me from that Battlecast?''

''No! Yes? No! I just need you to teach me to control the Overdrive!'' She said confusing herself. ''I-I'm not sure anymore…'' The girl fidgeting with her thumbs.

''Well now that I know you aren't lying every time we speak, I could put in a good word for you with my boss and teach you the ropes to using the Overdrive.'' I said making the girl calm down somewhat.

''R-Really!? You'd do that for me?'' She asked with glimmering eyes. ''Thank you!'' She said hugging me before quickly letting go. ''Uhm… Sorry…'' The girl said rubbing her neck awkwardly.

''Hehe… See it as father, daughter bonding time. The only difference is that we haven't met for thirteen years and you not having a name.'' I said awkwardly.

''Well if it helps, you could give me a name if you'd like. That is what parents do anyway right?'' The girl said.

''I guess? But you're old enough to decide on something like that for yourself, are you sure you don't want to choose something yourself?'' I asked making the girl shake her head.

''How about this? You come up with a couple of names and I'll choose one of them.'' She suggested with a happy smile. ''That way we both get what we want.''

''That sounds reasonable, I suppose.'' I said thinking up a few names that I would find suiting. ''Before I start rambling, what about Elizabeth, Nathalie would strangle me if I don't suggest that name first.''

''Why is that?''

''It is her mother's name… it would only be right to suggest it first.'' I said with a sad smile.

''Got any more name suggestions? I don't really like it that much…'' The girl said a bit ashamed. ''Sorry…''

''You don't have to apologize for not liking a name. In the end, it is your decision, not mine or Nathalie.'' I tried making sure the girl felt comfortable about her choice. ''Okay, I'm just going to name a couple of names, you just stop me when you hear something you like.''

''Alright! Shoot!'' The girl said getting excited.

After a short moment of thinking I took a deep breath and started rambling up names. ''Natasha, Mia, Angela, Megan, Guin, Rebecca, Kim, Suzy, Cathy, Cory-''

''Wait! I like that one!'' The girl spoke up suddenly stopping me.

''Cory?''

''No the other one with a C!'' She said excitedly.

''Cathy?'' I asked making her nod a couple of times. ''Hmm, yeah I can see that work.'' I said scratching my chin. ''Welcome to the family Cathy.'' I said smiling brightly.

''Thank you…'' Cathy muttered, fighting the tears forming in her eyes before hiding them by giving me another hug.

''Hey don't get emotional on me.'' I said returning the hug as the dog returned with his ball. ''Look your little friend is back.'' I quickly pet the dog on its head, making its tail wag more.

''Good boy Skipper.'' Cathy said sniffling while starting to pet the dog's fur. ''Go look for Phillip, Skip!'' She ordered, handing the dog his ball right before the dog walked away towards the house.

''So… What's the plan now?'' I asked Cathy, who was busy cleaning her eyes from the tears.

''Well, it's probably for the best if I gave you this back.'' Cathy said taking out my busted phone and handing it over. Yi's faint orange light coming from the cracked screen.

''Heh, I was starting to wonder where I left you.'' I said taking a looking at the broken screen. ''Hmm you've seen better days but I know you're still in there.'' I kept on talking to the phone, waking Yi back up. ''Wake up old man, I'm back.''

''I was wondering when you'd be back.'' Yi chuckled cheerfully. ''I was starting to think that you had already replaced your phone with me in it.''

''You could have talked to Cathy though… I'm sure she can be a bit talkative.'' I said, giving my phone a bored look.

''Who?'' Yi asked confused.

''Me, of course!'' Cathy said with a smile. ''You could have also told me that you two knew about me being Mark's daughter…'' She said giving the phone an annoyed look.

''Well… You weren't going to listen to me so it didn't matter too much anyway.'' Yi said with a sigh. ''You seem to have already picked up a… unhealthy habit from Mark.''

''I heard that!'' I said as Cathy and Yi began to laugh. ''See? I listen to you sometimes.''

''Good to see that your ears are still working fine after that nasty injury.'' Cathy giggled.

''Ha, ha, rub it in you two.'' I said getting up from my spot in the grass, slowly making my way back towards the barn.

''Where are you going?'' Cathy asked before getting up herself and followed closely.

''I'm going to figure out what the nearest town is and how long it will take to get us there.'' I said reaching for my phone. ''Oh… right.''

''I'm sorry I couldn't save your phone from the fall…'' Cathy said with a sad face. ''You must have landed on it when we got launched by the Battlecast explosion.'' She explained.

''It doesn't matter Cathy, it's just the outside that got damaged, I'm on the inside and all is fine in here.'' Yi said calmly. ''As for the nearest town, that would be a day worth of driving''

''Why would we want to leave? Everything is fine over here, these people offered us food and a place to spend the night, why not stay here?'' Cathy asked confused. ''It's not like we're running away from your allies are we?''

''No we're not, but standard protocol is to never reveal our secret identities to civilians. If an extraction crew shows up or even worse Nathalie or Damian shows up with their armor, these people might get suspicious of us.'' I explained to Cathy as we neared the farmhouse.

''I'm actually impressed that you remembered that protocol, Mark.'' Yi complimented, making Cathy giggle once more.

''Heh, you'd be impressed with the thing that I remembered from that giant rulebook.'' I said stopping in front of the farmhouse. ''Wait here Cathy, I'm going to ask Phillip what the quickest way to that town is.'' I told her, giving her a thumbs up.

* * *

It had been about ten minutes since Mark had entered the farmhouse to ask for directions, I guess. I trust him to make the right decisions. So if he says he wants to leave, then I guess we're leaving pretty soon…

''Even if it has only been a little over half a day, I'm going to miss this place…'' I told myself while taking a look at the barn before something soft brushed my leg. ''Skipper! You old dog, did you escape the house?'' I crouched down to the dogs level, patting his head.

While I was busy patting Skipper's head, I noticed his eyes darting from me to somewhere else, like he was getting distracted. Suddenly the dog began growing and bearing its teeth, scaring me a little bit.

''Skip? What's wrong boy?'' I asked, carefully taking a step back from the growling dog before realizing he wasn't growling at me.

I turned around and was met with a man aiming a gun at me. ''Hey there runt, remember me?'' He asked.

I quickly recognized his voice as the same man who interrogated me back when I was still in my cubical prison cell. Quickly I slapped the gun away from myself and began running away from him.

''Come back here you little-HEY LET GO OF ME YOU MUTT!'' The man yelled as Skipper jumped him, giving me a chance to fuse with Ashe and ready my bow.

''MARK! HELP!'' I yelled as the man threw Skipper off of him, making the dog whine. ''Hands off the dog!'' I yelled running at the man, trying to hit him with my bow.

Before I could even get a hit in, my blow was blocked by the man as he grabbed a hold of my bow and pulled at it, yanking me into his grasp. ''Retrieval of high-value target success.'' He said into his earpiece.

''Let her go, Jason.'' I heard Mark say. My eyes darted towards the farmhouse where Mark was now standing, fully armored and pointing his blade at the man holding me. ''She's no threat to you.''

''Oh yeah? Tell that to the four men that died in that convoy last night, this one reeks of trouble.'' The man said holding me. ''Not to mention that she took you with her.''

''Jason don't make me do this to you.'' Mark said slowly raising his blade towards the man. ''Let's just calm down and talk this over.''

''I think I'm just going to put a tranquilizer in the both of you, saves me a lot of time.'' The man said, pointing his weapon at me. ''Starting with-''

The man got interrupted as Mark closed the gap between the three of us, hitting the man in the face, forcing him to let go of me as I felt myself being swooped up from the ground.

Before I could even figure out what just happened, Mark put me down a few meters away from the knocked over man and kneeled before me, putting his hands on my shoulders. ''You okay?'' He asked as I gave him a few nods, making him physically relax.

''Mark?'' A feminine voice asked, making the two of us turn our heads towards the source of the voice. ''What are you doing? Why are you protecting her?''

''Nathalie it's not what it seems… She's innocent-'' Mark said before getting interrupted.

''Are you… siding with her? What did she do to you?'' Nathalie asked with a sad tone in her voice. ''I'm sorry Mark but this is for the better…'' She said fusing before drawing her sword and shield.

''Nathalie just listen to me! She's not the enemy! She tried to save my life!'' Mark yelled at her. ''You have to believe me! She's not what we thought she was!''

''Please… I-I know I did wrong things in the past, but… He's not lying.'' I said, taking a few steps towards Nathalie as she did the same. ''Please-'' I stopped talking as Nathalie drew back her sword, ready to strike me down with it.

 ***CLANG***

Within a split-second, Mark had jumped in again, locking blades with Nathalie, saving me from the obvious attack. ''Cathy! Five armed guys! Inside the barn! Take care of them, I'll hold her off!'' He ordered as he pushed Nathalie away.

''But…''

''Non-lethal takedowns! After that, we'll create an opening to leave! GO!'' He ordered as I once again nodded and ran away from the fight going on between the two lovers.

I ran up to the barn, bow drawn before taking cover against the large door. _''Five armed guys… Better play it safe.''_

''Prepare a Hawkshot'' I ordered Ashe as a small camera drone flew into the barn, giving me vision inside. Everything the drone picked up went directly to my visor, making it able for me to see through the walls of the barn.

'' _Non-lethal takedowns!''_ Mark's voice rang through my head right before I released the first arrow, making me sigh. ''Ashe reduce the power of burst mode, just make them feel the impact, not actually harm them.'' I ordered as I ran into the barn, bow drawn.

* * *

Sparks flew between us as we clashed again, this time I had raised my shield to block his strike like I should have last time. I didn't want to harm him, but something was definitely wrong. He was protecting the girl that he was so desperate to capture almost two weeks ago.

''Nathalie watch it!'' Leona yelled as Mark disappeared and struck my armor from behind, making me stagger forwards before I twisted around, trying to bash him with my shield.

''Why would you do this? Look at us… Fighting over a terrorist…'' I said trying to hit Mark with another swipe from my blade which he easily avoided.

''She's not a terrorist…'' He muttered while blocking another attack.

''She works for Viktor! Are you brainwashed or something?! She tried to kill us!'' I yelled, activating Eclipse, making my armor store up energy as it began to radiate heat and light. ''What did she do to you?!'' I asked him, but he didn't answer making me even angrier.

''She didn't do anything wrong. Just tell your men to stand down so we can talk.'' Mark said while creating a bit of distance between us, raising his hands in a non-threatening way.

''Commander we got a problem-AGH'' One of the soldiers on the coms tried to say before being cut off.

''What was that? Can someone repeat that?'' I asked panicking as I put a hand on my headgear, realizing that I just lost one of my soldiers inside the barn. ''Status! NOW!''

''We're a little busy commander!'' One of the other soldiers inside the barn said. His voice being muffled by the gunfire inside. ''To the right! To the right-AAAGH!'' the soldier said before also disappearing off the coms.

I looked up from the ground, remembering what Mark just asked, his words enraging me even more. ''You'd like that, wouldn't you? Have my men stand down so she can just wipe them all out?!'' I yelled while running towards him.

I put my shield up while running towards him, forcing him to stop my charge with his blade. ''Nathalie! Stop this!'' Mark yelled as he swiped upwards with his sword, before beating down on my shield again.

''Why? So you can kill me?'' I asked as my plan worked and the Eclipse detonated, throwing him to his feet. ''I don't know what has gotten into you, but you can't be trusted at the moment…'' I said, walking over to his downed form.

He grabbed a hold of his blade and tried to attack me with it, forcing me to dodge the attack. Out of instinct, I called down a Solar Flare, blasting him further into the ground.

''I'm… sorry...'' I said pointing my blade at his helmet. ''Get up you're coming with me, cuffed.'' I said motioning upwards with my blade, removing it from his face.

Slowly but surely he complied, getting up from the ground, his armor singeing, a black scorch mark on his body. ''You made me do it…'' I said, my words filled with regret as I looked at how weakly he held his shoulder in pain.

''Mark out of the way!'' I heard someone yell. I didn't have time to respond to what was going on as Mark rolled to the side as a small blue arrow flew past him and exploded inches away from me.

I felt cold, colder than I had ever felt before. My eyes went wide out of shock when I opened them again after the explosion. ''I-I'm f-f-frozen?!'' I stuttered due to the cold sensation.

''I… did it!'' The small girl fused with Ashe ran up to Mark and supported him for a moment as he patted her on the head, making her giggle.

''Good job…'' Mark said before they both stumbled pass me. ''Cathy say goodbye to the Martha and Phillip, we're leaving.'' I heard him tell the girl before he walked towards me again.

''S-s-s-so this i-i-s h-h-ow its going t-t-to be?'' I asked, feeling warm tears run down my freezing face.

''You brought this upon yourself, Nath.'' Mark said removing his helmet, showing his hurt expression. ''I want to apologize in advance, but since you need answers… Ask Agnes have her tell you what she told me.''

''W-w-w-hat d-d-does that e-e-even mean?'' I stuttered through the tears. ''D-d-don't go!''

''Command will notice the heart rate monitors of your men drop, so I wouldn't be surprised if your backup will arrive in a few minutes. Can't afford to stick around, sorry.'' He said putting his helmet back on and walked away.

''M-m-m-mark…'' I silently let my tears fall down my frozen prison. ''W-w-w-why…''

* * *

I let out a sigh as I looked at the frozen mess that was Nathalie at the moment. ''I don't blame her at all, but there is just now way to reason with her right now, she'll just have to find out on her own…'' I told myself while taking notice of Cathy leaving the home of the farmer and his wife.

''Hey kiddo, you okay to leave?''

''Yeah, I apologized to them for lying.'' Cathy said nodding. ''They didn't mind after the whole thing that happened here.'' She explained, fixing her hood. ''And Skipper is going to be okay as well, so I've got nothing to worry about.'' Cathy added quickly with a smile.

''Okay then, you just hold on tight now.'' I said picking up the small girl.

''What are you doing?'' She asked confused as I activated Highlander and the Overdrive.

''I'm going to try and carry you to the next town where we'll spend the night and plan our next move.'' I explained to her as I ran off, leaving the farm and Nathalie behind, feeling a slight hint of regret in my heart as I did so.

* * *

I had been running for hours without a single stop, I could feel the fatigue in my body starting to slow me down. And if that wasn't enough Cathy's form and weight in my arms already slowed me down by a mile.

''Mark you're almost there, don't stop now.'' Yi said calmly, as it was the only thing keeping me awake at this point since Cathy was already asleep in my arms, her white hair waving in the wind.

''How much further?'' I asked before letting a yawn escape my mouth. ''Oh, never mind. I can see it.'' I told Yi as we entered the small town. ''It's so small…''

''Don't worry, there should be a small hotel right over… here.'' Yi said as we stopped at a sleazy motel in the middle of the town.

''Couldn't you have gone for a little bit more… I don't know, at least half a star?'' I asked as I put Cathy down outside against a parked car before defusing with Yi. ''Keep an eye on her, I'm gonna rent a 'room' if you can even call it that.'' I said making my way into the receptionist office while Yi's light left my broken phone.

''Good evening sir, how can I help you?'' An uninterested man asked, sitting behind the desk.

''A room for two please.'' I asked the man while looking around his office, trying to hide my grimace as I scanned the dirty office.

''Sorry buddy I only have a room for one available.'' The man said. ''You want that instead?''

''I suppose…'' I said handing him my credit card.

''Have a good night buddy.'' The man said handing me the key to the room. ''And if you're having 'girls' over, please. Try to keep it clean okay?'' The man asked.

''Uh… I'm just going to stay the night… but sure whatever you say…'' I said awkwardly leaving the office, quickly picking up Cathy before heading off to the room.

The room we got was surprisingly clean and with a large bed and bathroom, all being well kept. In the corner of the room was a small table with a chair and close to it was a small plank on the wall with a television on it.

Across from that was the bed, the bathroom being almost right next to it.

''Well… I guess I shouldn't judge a book by its cover, my bad Yi.'' I said putting Cathy down on the bed after throwing back the sheets. ''Heh.''

''What's funny?'' Yi asked a bit confused.

''Do you think that our children will look like her? Look at her she's so cute…'' I said looking at the sleeping child in the bed.

''I don't know Mark…'' Yi said, creating an awkward silence in the room.

''I should probably get some rest as well…'' I said, breaking the silence and laying down next to the small girl in the bed. ''G'night Yi...''

''Good night Mark.''

Before I could drift off to sleep I felt Cathy rest on top of me, making me smile at the satisfied smile on her face while she slept. ''Pa…pa…'' I heard her mutter before falling asleep myself.

'' _I'll find a way to clear your name, I promise.''_

* * *

 **Eyoooo, Emerald here, back with a new chapter for Project Earth.**

 **Things happening! Nathalie crying! Talking! Naming! A bit of fighting! Sorry that this chapter wasn't as action-packed as some may have been expecting but more things are coming I promise! Once again not the longest of chapters but I'm getting there sooner or later. Pls, forgive meh…**

 **I recently got sick which really cut into my schedule which is already tight due to Destiny 2 and due to a bit of writer's block and depression AND NOW THIS SHIT! Doctor said that I needed to do a blood test.**

 **Just like last time, the Halloween special is still a go, I just need to get two or three chapters out before the end of the month, hell I might even make it extra-long and post it a little later. Especially now that Cathy is finally in the story! That gets me all excited to write more stuff for you guys! Next chapter will probably have a bit more action so that's something to look forward to!**

 **!Discord time!**

 **You can enter the Discord channel by typing in: discord dot gg /BWpaKr9**

 **We all would really appreciate it if you joined! It's super fun in here and I'm sure you could make it even better, I mean c'mon, the more the better right?**

 **Just remember to be respectful towards others and don't be racist so we can all have a good time, k? It's seriously a blast in the server right now with all the peeps that just keep coming and coming! So what are you waiting for? Come join us! Tell your fanfic loving friends and let's have some fun together! No need for hesitation!**

 **Before I go, I just want to thank you guys so much for sticking with me and the story for so long, I know that I haven't really been active for a while and that I cut myself in the fingers with it but what can you do except for work on the next and keep apologizing.**

 **Anywho, thank you guys so much for being patient and for reading of course, for the people that are waiting on the next chapter of Angel's thief, I'm going to work on it again! I promise you guys will have two chapters before the end of the month as well!**

 **I'm gonna work directly on the next chapter and I hope to see you guys in the next chapter of any of my stories!**

 **Until next time!**

 **Emerald out!**


	30. Chapter 30

PROJECT: Earth

Chapter 30: Runaway

* * *

''Hmm..? Where am I?'' I asked myself as I looked around in the room.

I lay in a large bed filled with stuffed animals ranging from dogs and cats to dragons and fairies to name a few. I noticed a desk with a small laptop on it, some posters hanging from the wall and a bookcase filled with colorful books.

While looking around I got spooked by a lightning strike outside the window making me yelp out of surprise. I looked past the thin pink drapes and watched as a storm raged outside.

''Mark? Yi..? A-Ashe..?'' I asked aloud, the confusion and fear scaring me a little bit. ''Anyone?'' I asked after a second of hesitation, the fear of being alone getting to me.

Suddenly my thoughts were interrupted by knocking on the bedroom door before it slowly opened revealing a familiar face calming me down a bit.

''Hey sweetie what's wrong? Your mom and I heard you from downstairs… Were you having a nightmare?'' Mark asked as he walked into the room and crouched next to the bed.

''N-no… well… maybe? Where are we? I remember running with you from the farm but I must have fallen asleep and-'' I tried to explain to him but Mark began to chuckle.

''Farm? Running away with me? What are you talking about? Sweetie pie, you're home with mommy and daddy, it was probably just a dream.'' Mark said as he patted my head, I looked past him and noticed another figure standing in the doorway, slowly making its way into the room.

''Mark! It's Nathalie watch out!'' I said pointing my finger at the woman.

''Cathy what has gotten into you?'' Mark asked frowning at me. ''It's just your mother…''

''Let me try.'' Nathalie said as she slowly crouched down next to Mark, carefully putting one hand on her surprisingly large belly. ''Sweetie is this about the baby? We aren't replacing you, we would never…'' She said with a sad look in her eyes.

''Baby? What?'' I asked confused as Nathalie stroked my black hair.

''Your baby brother or sister of course sweetie, I thought you said you were excited about it?'' Nathalie asked with a confused smile, slowly getting back up. ''You have school tomorrow, so how about you try and get some sleep?'' She suggested before giving me a kiss and taking her leave.

''Mark… What's going on? I-I don't understand…'' I asked him, my voice filled with uncertainty. ''Please… tell me it wasn't just a dream…'' Mark was still sitting next to the bed, scratching his chin.

''First of all, what's up with using our names? Just call me dad or papa like you always do, silly.'' He said with a friendly smile while ruffling my hair. ''And second, I'm convinced that you just had a confusing dream, why don't you try and get some rest for now, if the lighting wakes you up again, you can join mom and me in our bed.''

''Was it really a dream..? But it all felt so real…'' I asked myself, still as confused as before.

''Sweetie, sometimes our mind plays tricks on us and makes us dream about things that we really want to see or things that we really don't want to see, I think you were on the receiving end of something you didn't want to see.'' Mark explained before giving me a kiss on the head and tucked me in.

''Sure Mark- I mean… Sure papa.'' I said giving him a hug before he could finishing tugging me into bed. _''This feels so right… Like I'm really part of a family…''_

''Good night Cathy.'' Mark said before slowly closing the door, giving me a chance to also wish him a good night in return.

'' _Is this what it feels like to be part of a family? It feels… good.''_ I thought to myself before falling asleep again.

* * *

 ***BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP***

A series of loud noises woke me up from my dream, making me shoot up in bed and scan the room I was in.

This time I wasn't in a nice bedroom or a comfy bed filled with plush animals. The room I was in looked like a cheap motel of some sorts, the room was almost fully empty, with the exception of a small table with a chair and a plank with a television on it, straight across from the bed.

I picked up the familiar phone and turned off the alarm before staring at the screen for a couple of minutes. The Blue visor with a small 'x' going through the middle staring back at me.

''A-Ashe..?'' I asked carefully, unsure if I was still dreaming or not. ''A-Are you there?''

''Yes, what's up?'' She asked surprised.

''Nothing… I think I'm not dreaming anymore.'' I said rubbing the sleep from my eyes. ''Where is Mark? Is he still with us?''

''He's not with us right now. He left a couple of hours ago, didn't say a word to me.'' Ashe said coldly as if she didn't care about what happened to him or me.

''No… He couldn't have.'' I said, deep in thought as I made my way out of the bed, using the covers as a warm cloak before looked around the room. ''Did he… ditch us?'' I asked, beginning the sniffle a little.

''Ugh don't start crying again.'' Ashe said with a sigh. ''Look listen, would you drag someone with you for hours, rent a hotel room for them and put them in a warm bed for the night just to ditch them the next morning?'' The frost archer asked getting a bit annoyed.

''N-No?'' I asked, still upset.

''Then clearly he didn't ditch us.'' Ashe jumped to her conclusion.

Suddenly there were a few knocks on the door and the doorknob began to twist and turn like someone was opening the door. Panic shot through me as I quickly hid underneath the bed, the covers of the bed making it obvious where I was.

'' _Nice hiding spot kid, real smooth…''_ Ashe said mentally.

'' _Shutup!''_

''Cathy? I'm back.'' Mark's voice called out. ''Are you… hiding underneath the bed?'' He asked with a chuckle.

''W-Well I thought you were someone else! I thought you ditched me and Ashe!'' I said getting out of my hiding spot, taking a seat on the bed.

''Why would I do that? I thought I made it clear that I won't ever abandon you again…'' He said taking a seat on the bed, pulling me closer to him.

''I don't know… but you did leave!'' I said pointing an angry finger at him. ''Where did you go?! I was so worried!''

''I went and bought us breakfast? Plus I looked around for a way back to the city.'' Mark explained. ''I thought you could use some food after not eating last night.'' He said as my stomach growled loudly, making my face go red out of embarrassment.

''W-Well, I haven't eaten in some time now… Still, that's no reason to leave without telling me.'' I said pouting his way, making him raise an eyebrow.

''Uhm, I did tell you?'' He said confused.

''What are you talking about? I wouldn't be hiding underneath the bed if I knew!'' I said getting annoyed with his silly excuses.

''Cathy when I got up this morning you clung to my body, telling me not to leave… After explaining my plan you muttered 'Sure papa'… I thought you were talking to me…'' Mark said embarrassed.

''…'' I couldn't believe what I had said in my sleep. ''I-I-I… Apparently, I talk in my sleep…'' I quickly said, recovering from my embarrassment.

''You wouldn't be the first in the family.'' Mark said laughing. ''Come on let's get to eating breakfast.'' He said slowly getting up from the bed, groaning lightly while massaging his legs.

''Are you okay?'' I asked following him to the table where a plastic bag stood.

''It's nothing, but I got to say that we don't have much time to get back to the city, I need my medicine soon.'' He explained while reaching into the bag and pulling out a box with some pastries. ''Here try this.'' He said handing me a swirl covered in white frosting.

''What's this?'' I asked taking a bite out of the small bun, the sugary sensation making my eyes go wide. ''This… This is delicious!'' I said quickly beginning to devour the pastry.

''Heh, I'm glad you like it.'' Mark chuckled.

''What was that with your leg just now? You looked in pain…'' I asked a bit worried as Mark passed me another pastry.

''I have special prosthetics in my legs which require a weekly medicine in order to keep them working and right now I can already feel them hurting.'' He said slowly eating his breakfast.

''So you need that medicine soon… Where can we buy it?'' I asked him while eating another pastry.

''Slow down on the cinnamon buns, you'll feel sick if you eat too many at once.'' Mark said closing the box with two more pastries inside, making me frown. ''Also we can't buy the medicine anywhere, it's made for only me... And we can only get it back in the city…''

''So we'll have to go back to the city, avoid being caught by those people after us and prove that I'm not a threat… How are we going to do that?'' I asked finishing my last cinnamon bun.

''There is a train that leaves from the station around here, it should get us to the city within a day and a half, hopefully that's enough time.'' Mark said worried. ''I also got you this.'' He said picking up another bag and handing it to me.

I pulled out a clean set of clothes, making me smile at how nice they looked. First I pulled out a white pair of skinny jeans, followed by a clean set of underwear, a white t-shirt and a black zip-up hoodie.

''Why would you get me all this stuff?'' I asked in amazement.

''Well… we are trying to not stand out in a crowd and secondly because your clothes smell bad, really, really bad.'' He said with a small smile. ''When was the last time you wore a clean set of clothes?''

''I dunno? Back when you visited me in my cube?'' I said aloud, making Mark frown.

''Alright how about you take a shower and try on your new clothes while I throw out these old ones before we leave.'' Mark said getting up from his seat.

''Uh, fine by me.'' I said walking into the bathroom and taking my clothes off before throwing them out of the room. ''You can throw those out.''

''Alright, I'll be right back.'' Mark said before the door to the hotel room opened and closed again.

I carefully played around with the knobs of the shower, making sure the water was just perfect before taking the small bottle of soap and pouring it over myself and beginning to wash myself. The feeling of the water, making me relax almost fully.

After a few minutes of standing in the shower I heard the door open and close again, signaling Mark was back from throwing away the old clothes. ''Don't forget to wash your hair. Use shampoo for your hair.'' I heard him say.

After finding it and washing my hair I got ready to leave the shower, taking one of the two towels that hung from the walls and dried myself off with it before wrapping my hair inside the towel.

''Ah that felt great.'' I said walking back into the room. ''Mark would you mind brushing my hair?'' I asked taking a seat next to him on the bed.

I noticed I didn't get a response and turned to him. He was looking at me completely red-faced, his hand in front of his eyes.

''Mark?'' I asked confused.

''Cathy sweetie, I'm fine with brushing your hair after you wash it but for the love of all that is holy put some clothes on first!'' He nearly yelled.

''Huh? Sis and I always brushed each other's hair after washing together…'' I said tilting my head in confusion.

''Wait your sister?'' Mark asked confused as I put on the clothes that he had bought. ''You mean the woman fused with Katarina? Don't tell me she's…''

''No, don't worry. It's a long and confusing story, long story short we aren't related but we're pretty close like sisters.'' I explained with a smile. ''Now would you brush my hair? I put on the clothes like you said…''

''Sure, but… She seemed very keen on keeping you safe, wouldn't you rather be with her instead of with me? I'm sure she can take care of you without working with Viktor.'' Mark said as I took a seat on the bed with him, letting him brush my hair with a cheap hotel hairbrush.

''I do really miss her… but she just blindly follows Viktor, no questions asked whatsoever… I just can't do that.'' I said the sadness clearly noticeable in my voice. ''I don't know why she just follows him… It's like she's programmed to or something.''

''So you're going to rebel against Viktor now? You're one of us?'' Mark asked as he continued carefully brushing my hair.

''One of us? I thought it was just you and me? Your allies seem to believe that you've gone rogue or something...'' I said with a sigh.

''Well… If you look at it that way… You, me and Yi still have a long way to go to prove your innocence.'' Mark said, laughing nervously.

''Eghem, there's four of us. Unless I suddenly don't count anymore.'' Ashe interrupted the moment with her cold remark. ''It would be nice if I wasn't forgotten for once.''

''Aha! I knew it! You can talk!'' Mark said enthusiastically.

''It's good to hear from you again commander, it has been far too long.'' Yi said calmly. ''I am still sorry for-''

''Don't act like I'm going to let off the hook, Yi. In the end this whole mess is all your fault.'' Ashe interrupted the Wuju blademaster coldly before he could apologize.

''There you go again, being all icy for no reason at all.'' I scolded the archer trapped in my phone. ''If you want to be grumpy do it somewhere else and don't bother us!'' I said, my small outburst surprising both Mark and Yi a bit.

''Fine, I see my company isn't wanted by you either…'' Ashe said. ''Like always.'' She whispered the last part as the screen of my phone turned off.

''I'm sorry about that guys… Ashe can be… interesting sometimes.'' I apologized to Mark and Yi. ''Mark please continue explaining.''

''Well… Like I was saying, the four of us still have long way to go if we want to prove your innocence and I haven't gone rogue so let's get going and catch that train home shall we?'' Mark explained as he stopped brushing my hair.

''Sounds like a plan!'' I said getting up from the bed excitedly.

* * *

''I can confirm that the satellite has safely reached orbit without taking any damage.'' One of the scientists confirmed with me as a display showed the view from outer space.

''Launch was a success?'' I asked for confirmation.

''Indeed ma'am, the MZS support sat is up and fully functional whenever you need it now.'' The scientist confirmed making me smile.

''Congratulations on finishing yet another huge project of yours.'' Pete complimented as he walked into the communications room. ''Truly a huge accomplishment if I say so myself.''

''Thank you sir. The satellite is equipped with everything you requested and is at your disposal whenever sir. Just give me the signal and it's ready for use.'' I said with a forced smile.

''That is great to hear since I need it on standby right now. The moment those two show their heads I want you to take care of it.'' Pete said inspecting the controls of the satellite.

''M-Me? Why me of all people!? I'm sure you have way more suited people for a job like that.'' I asked hesitantly.

''Agnes, please. You're the one that build this tech, you're the only one who's suited to use it!'' Pete complimented with a small smile. ''Needless to say, aren't you just a little bit curious about how it performs in the field?''

''Sir this machine isn't ready for a full-on combat encounter with something like a PROJECT armor yet! I've only ran simulations and even then, it can't go toe to toe with two at once…'' I tried reasoning with Pete who just shrugged off the comments like it was no problem at all.

''Weren't you the one who said that you programmed an improved A.I. to help the user out during combat?'' He asked raising an eyebrow towards me.

''Sir please listen to me! Both the A.I. programming and the blueprints for this weapon were stolen from Viktor! What if this is all a trap and it turns on us?!'' I nearly yelled out of frustration. ''What if-''

''Agnes, I have no time for 'What if's', right now the only thing that matters is taking down O'Neill and that little criminal before they do something stupid.'' Pete interrupted me with an annoyed sigh.

''What gives you the idea that they'll do something stupid sir?'' I asked confused.

''Did you not read the report that Bravo team send after their encounter with him last night?'' Pete asked surprised. ''If agent Leona agrees that he has gone rogue then he needs to be taken down!''

''I eh… read the report sir… but it didn't seem like Nathalie was the one who wrote it or agreed with it at all…'' I said with a sad face. ''Why don't we just wait for the Hex in his body to run out? He'll be forced to turn to us for help.''

''I can't take such a risk Agnes, I just can't. I've seen what those two are capable of within just twenty-four hours they have taken down an entire squad of elite soldiers.'' Pete said turning to me with a worried look on his face.

''But using these never before tested inventions? Sir, doesn't that seem like a bit… overkill?'' I asked, mimicking the worried look on Pete's face.

''If there is one thing that I've learned from these PROJECT armors, it's that nothing is overkill when it comes to those things.'' Pete said, letting out another sigh. ''Say Agnes have you heard anything from Nathalie or Leona since she got back yesterday?''

''Uh… No sir, after she got freed from that block of ice I gave her a medical check-up, after that I send her home with some cold medicine just in case…'' I said looking away.

''Hmm, rather troublesome… Say would you mind checking if everything is alright with her? I would like to know if she's available in case something goes wrong over here.'' Pete asked with a friendly smile.

''No problem at all sir. If you need me just give me a call and I'll be right down.'' I said walking out of the communication center.

'' _Now to pick up some stuff and off to check on Nathalie… I hope she's alright, poor girl cried her heart out yesterday…''_

* * *

''She's coming! RUN!'' A commanding officer screamed in agony as he ran into the control room with three other guards following him closely. ''Lockdown this room! Don't let her through!''

Alarms were going off inside the facility, explosions going off all around the compound and fires raging all around. Guards were scattered, either protecting the prison cells or the research department.

''Sir, what's going on?!'' A junior guard asked panicked as he obeyed the order and closed down the door to the room. ''Sir?! Who's coming?!''

''One of the intruders! I saw her! One of those… things!'' The officer yelled. ''You! Set up a mounted weapon, you! Unlock this weapons crate! We need all the firepower we can get!'' His men quickly obeyed and got ready for whatever was coming.

The room was filled with silence, the only noise coming from outside the room. The corridors on the other side of the room were filled with the sounds of gunfire before being replaced with screams of fear and death.

''Sir?'' The junior officer whispered to his commanding officer, breaking the tension in the room and getting a nod from his boss. ''What is out there?''

''Have you been living under a rock or something?! It's one of his-'' Before the officer could finish his sentence a set of footsteps could be traced by the two shadows of the figures feet that formed underneath the locked door.

The figure in front of the door stood still for a moment, barely moving a muscle. After the short pause a white light formed halfway the door, slowly going to the right before making a turn down. Meanwhile the figure had disappeared.

''GET DOWN! SHE'S BLOWING UP THE DOOR!'' The officer yelled, putting his men on edge, all of them focused on the small square that was formed by the white light before a large explosion broke open the door.

''Hold your position! She'll show!'' The officer told his men, all of them sweating nervously. ''S-Show yourself!''

''My pleasure.'' A voice called out into the room as a red dagger dropped inside it, making the guards look up in panic.

I dropped down from my hiding spot inside the ventilation shaft which I cut open while the explosives distracted the guards in the room. Before landing safely behind the defensive line set up by the guards.

''Kill her before-'' The commanding officer yelled before receiving a dagger to the neck, making him fall to the ground, his blood coating the floor of the room.

After the dagger took out the leader I had to reposition as one of the guards pointed a mounted weapon at me. The silence was broken once again by the sound of gunfire while I cartwheeled through the room before using Shunpo to grab the dagger that I prepared, slicing at the guard behind the mounted weapon, dropping him instantly before turning the last two unfortunate guards who were busy reloading their weapons.

I threw one of my daggers towards the closest one, leaving him with a dagger sticking out of his shoulder, making the guard scream in pain, while clutching the blade stuck in his arm.

After throwing the dagger I immediately jumped to the dagger by using Shunpo again. As I grabbed the dagger and sliced it across the guards chest I noticed he was still standing and decided to just end it quickly.

Before using Death Lotus I readied another dagger just in case. I broke out in a deadly dance, spinning and throwing dagger after dagger into the last two remaining guards. Right before my dance ended I felt a drop of blood hit my cheek, making me stop almost instantly with a large smile on my face.

''Next time… run.'' I said smiling cockily as I cleansed my cheek from the blood.

''Hey Snow-White you almost done there?'' I heard Flynn ask on the coms. ''Don't tell me you're just blindly killing guards again? I know you're easily tempted but please contain yourself…''

''N-Negative, I've got eyes on the prize.'' I said turning my back to the group of dead guards before typing in a password into the console they were protecting. ''I'll be over in a second. How is your search going?''

''Waiting's on you Snow-White. I did my part, he's waiting on you and the package.'' Flynn voice was filled with annoyance, shots from his Lightcasters clearly hearable in the background. ''If you wouldn't mind.''

I watched as a mechanical claw grabbed a cylinder and brought it towards me. I examined the glass cylinder filled with an orange light before stabbing it with one of my daggers, grabbing the contents of the container.

''I'm on my way.''

* * *

''The facility is now going into lockdown, please remain calm.'' A snobbish voice rang through the facility as I reached Flynn and an older man with long hair going over his shoulder.

''I got what you asked for.'' I said handing the phone to the older man, making the phone generate even more bright orange light. ''Now where's our way out?''

''Well… originally that was our way out.'' Flynn said pointing at a doorway sealed off by two giant metal doors. ''But someone took their sweet ass time getting here…'' He said with venom ins his voice.

''Excuse me? If it wasn't for you slacking during the Urgot test we would have had Ashe with us, this would have been a walk in the park you jackass!'' I snarled at the assassin, pointing a dagger at him and receiving a gun pointed at my face.

We both were interrupted by a bright orange light, signaling that the older man fused with the champion stored in the phone.

''Shut it, both of you.'' He said annoyed before unsheathing his large orange blade. ''You in the red armor, you mentioned the Ashe Project, does that mean Viktor succeeded?'' He asked as he made his way over to the doors.

''I'm living proof of his success, the other girl is… a different story.'' I said rubbing my shoulder gingerly, secretly hoping she was doing okay.

''Ha! I like your attitude.'' The orange ronin laughed as an orange wind began blowing around him. ''Stand back kid, I'll show you why I'm the top dog around here.'' He bragged before pulling his blade and slashing it over the floor before pointing towards the large double doors, sending an orange tornado forward destroying them.

''Can we hurry this up? If the doors are locked I'm willing to bet that reinforcements aren't close behind.'' Flynn said tapping his feet impatiently.

''Agreed, not that its going to be a problem.'' The man with the orange blade said. ''But before we leave, you, girl, I need to know one thing.

''What do you want old man?'' I asked, glaring at the ronin who pointed an armored finger towards me.

''Where is O'Neill? He's going to pay for-'' Before he could finish his sentence he slashed his blade sideways, summoning an orange barrier as a rocket exploded against the barrier. ''Seems like O'Neill will have to wait for now…''

In the newly created doorway stood a wall of guards wielding metallic shield and electrified batons, behind the large wall was another line of guards, armed with different kinds of weapons, including rocket launchers.

''Oh great, would you look at that… Reinforcements, like I said…'' Flynn huffed annoyed as he pulled his pistols.

''Oh come one Flynnie, live a little… While you can!'' I roared with a large smile while I felt the adrenaline flow through my body as I used Shunpo to get closer to the wall of guards.

''I like her.'' The ronin told Flynn before dashing off to fight the guards as well.

* * *

'' _two-hundred-nine, two-hundred-ten, two-hundred-eleven! Here we go…''_ I thought to myself as I read the numbers on the door in the hallway before knocking on the right door.

''Nathalie? Are you home?'' I asked politely before hearing the door unlock.

''Door's open…'' A sad, raspy voice said before silencing itself.

I slowly opened the door into the dimly lit apartment, making it hard to see. ''Nathalie, Pete asked me to check up on you to make sure that you're… doing… okay.'' I nearly stopped talking as I laid eyes on Nathalie.

The way Nathalie looked scared me a little. She had black bags underneath her red puffy eyes from not sleeping and probably crying a bit, a completely red nose and her usually beautifully kept hair was a mess, hidden underneath the hood of an old hoodie.

''I-I can't keep going Agnes… I feel miserable.'' She said, rubbing her nose with the sleeve of her hoodie.

''I noticed, come here for a second so I can feel your forehead for a second.'' I ordered her before feeling her head. ''Nathalie you're burning up! You should be in bed!''

''Hm, strange… It feels like I'm freezing right now.'' Nathalie said, quickly grabbing a blanket from the couch in the apartment and covering herself. ''Better.''

''Wait have you been staying on the couch since yesterday?'' I asked taken aback a little.

''I think so… Can't recall.'' Nathalie said weakly, taking a seat on the couch. ''Ugh, my head…''

''Nathalie collapsed on the couch yesterday Agnes.'' Leona's voice filled the room as a yellow light shone from the soundbar underneath the TV. ''I've been watching over her ever since.''

''Thank you Leona. Say Nathalie its quite late, have you eaten anything since yesterday?'' I asked although I already figured out the answer. ''It might do you good.'' I said taking a seat on a sofa chair.

''I don't feel like eating…'' Nathalie said, laying down on the couch, covering herself in the blanket.

''Okay, now you have me worried. How about I make you some soup so you can warm up a little?'' I asked kindly. ''Like I said before, it'll be good for you to eat something.''

''I don't want anything Agnes… Please, I just want to be alone…'' Nathalie whispered, curling up in a ball underneath the blanket.

''Oh no you don't! I'm not letting you do this to yourself!'' I nearly yelled as I helped Nathalie sit up on the couch.

''What the hell Agnes?! What part of leave me alone don't you understand?!'' Nathalie asked annoyed, struggling to get my hands off of her shoulders.

''Nathalie, I know that what Mark did is bothering you, but right now you're sick and vulnerable so I'm taking it upon myself to take care of you!'' I said looking her in the eyes.

There was a moment of silence in the room before Nathalie broke down crying, a few tears rolling down her cheeks. ''Why Agnes?'' She asked before hugging me closely, crying into me. ''Why would he do this?'' She sobbed silently.

''I don't know sweetie…'' I said returning the hug and rubbing her back slowly.

''Y-You liar… You do know…'' Nathalie said after breaking up the hug. ''Mark told me to ask you... So please, tell me.''

''I will, I promise but first I want you to eat something and have some rest.'' I said strictly making her sigh in annoyance. ''How about you warm yourself up a little, do you have a bathtub in this apartment?''

''Agnes!'' Nathalie protested before coughing a couple of times due to her raising her voice. ''*Sigh*, Yeah, we do…''

''Good, I want you to take a hot bath so I can make you some soup, after that I want you to eat some and go to bed, I'll stick around and explain everything once you're fully rested.'' I said with a smile as Nathalie threw off the blanket and walked off further into the apartment. ''And don't fall asleep in the tub! That's dangerous!'' I warned, earning a few weak giggles.

''Agnes..? You're going to explain everything to me right?'' Nathalie asked hesitantly while coming to a hold in the doorway of the bathroom.

''Of course I will, I promised didn't I?'' I replied without a second thought. ''Now go, that bath isn't going to fill itself up.''

''Thanks Angie you're the best.'' Nathalie said giggling weakly as she cleaned her eyes from few tears she had shed before closing the bathroom door behind her.

'' _What happened to 'finding the right moment to tell her about your daughter?' Dammit, Mark..''_

* * *

''Mark~ Come here baby~'' I heard Nathalie purr seductively from somewhere.

''Nath? Where are you? P-Please I want to explain what happened…'' My voice was filled with regret as I searched for Nathalie in the endless darkness.

''Heehee, you don't have to explain a thing~'' I heard a giggle. Once again, Nathalie her voice came from somewhere untraceable.

''But… This is all my fault… I-I should have been honest with you from the start, if I did this whole situation could have been avoided.'' I hesitantly explained to the voice this time with a bit of urgency in my voice.

''Why don't you just come over here~ All will be forgiven~'' She said, making my suspicion rise. ''I just want to cuddle~''

''Nath for the love of- Listen to me!'' I raised my voice at Nathalie making her gasp.

''…'' The voice remained quiet for a moment. ''I see how it is, you don't want me any longer. After all you did let Cathy nearly freeze me to death, maybe I should try my luck with someone else… Hm~ Pete looks like a nice guy~''

''Nathalie don't you dare!'' I began to panic as I began to hear whispering and moaning coming from Nathalie. ''Nathalie!''

''Mark wake up! You're being way too loud.'' Cathy said annoyed, giving me a shove to wake me up from my short dream.

I groaned weakly and shook my head a couple of times before taking a look around. I looked around our small room on the old-timey express train that we took hours ago. Nothing seemed to have changed much, the little curtains were still open even though the moonlight was shining into the room, no one seemed to be walking around the train and the free blankets for the night were still packed in plastic.

The only thing that changed in the small window of time was Cathy who had moved from her spot on **her** side of the couch in front of me to on top of me on **my** couch, resting her head on my lap and looking up at my face.

''Shouldn't you be like… sleeping or something?'' I asked strictly after letting out a loud yawn. ''It's pretty late.''

''Pff, like that has ever stopped me from sleeping before.'' Cathy said with a small grin, her body betraying her as she began to yawn as well. ''Okay maybe I'm a little tired.'' She said rubbing her eyes for a bit.

''Alright young lady time to sleep, we got a busy afternoon ahead of us tomorrow.'' I said getting up from my spot on the seating, closing the curtains before unpacking the blankets and handing one to Cathy. ''We need to be at our best tomorrow, there are eyes and ears around the city everywhere so we need to be alert.''

''Yeah, yeah. This is the third time you said that…'' Cathy said bored as she sat down on her part of the couch before covering herself with the blanket and crawling into the corner of the couch.

During her crawling her foot got stuck in the blanket and without knowing it she ripped a hole in the blanket, making it practically useless. ''Uh, Mark..?'' She asked me, giving me a look filled with sadness.

''*Sigh* I don't have a choice now do I?'' I asked myself, motioning Cathy to sit with me again.

With a large smile Cathy made herself comfortable, resting her back against my chest before grabbing the remaining blanket and covering the both of us with it.

''You want to listen to some music?'' Before I could finish the question Cathy was already nodding and taking one of the earbuds while I plugged them into my phone before handing my phone to Cathy. ''You decide.''

As Cathy began to scroll through the songs, trying to find something that looked interesting to her, I slowly closed my eyes and let out a tired sigh. After a moment of silence, 'Iris' by The Goo Goo Dolls started playing almost instantly reminding me of Nath and making me sigh silently.

''You must really care about me, don't you?'' Cathy asked, knocking me out of my depressing thoughts.

''Hm?''

''I mean clearly you love her, yet you still chose to stand with me yesterday… It makes me feel bad inside.'' Cathy explained, looking away guiltily. ''Maybe we should split up, I'll do fine on my own…''

''If you think I'm going to let you, my twelve year old daughter take care of herself you're really wrong missy.'' I said almost glaring at her. ''Cathy you're not the problem, they are and we'll show them that you're willing to work with us. That's what you want right?''

''If we stop all of this, we'll be a real family… So in a way yes, I do want this.'' Cathy said mustering a small smile.

''We'll be a family. I promise.'' I said with a large smile while hugging Cathy's small form.

''Thanks… Papa.'' She muttered before closing her eyes, falling asleep to the music.

* * *

 **Eyoooo, Emerald back at it again with a new chapter for Project Earth!**

 **Kept you waiting didn't I? Sorry I didn't mean to… but I've been busy and stuff came up from all angles like my uncle breaking both his arms and some exams for school, but finally it's here! A new chapterino, like always!**

 **I made some small changes to the whole large upcoming chapters and events that are going to take place (No spoiling! D: ), I will say however that I will no longer be uploading a Halloween special for PE. (If you guys really want to I could work on it as a side project and release it someday as a loose thing tho).**

 **And now with the new Project skins and the map showing up on the PBE I've been having a lot of idea's floating around my head, one of them being a sequel to this fic featuring the new Project line (Sorry no new Projects showing up in this fic).**

 **Anywho, let me know your thoughts on 1. The chapter and 2. The idea's over here in the reviews and like always I want to thank you guys for sticking around, I've gone through some tough times lately and re-reading the reviews on both this story and on An Angel's Thief really help cheer me up, so thank you guys!**

 **Like always, I hope to see you guys reading the next chapter of any of my stories,**

 **Until next time!**

 **Emerald out!**


	31. Chapter 31

PROJECT: Earth

Chapter 31: Fighting fire with fire

* * *

I finally felt a lot better after last night. Not only did Agnes watch over me all night but she also made me dinner and forced me to rest in Mark and my bed for the remainder of the night and morning after before finally explaining to me what was going on. Needless to say, I was shocked.

''So let me get this straight… I have a daughter...?'' I half asked, letting the giant heap of information sink in.

''Mhm.'' Agnes confirmed with a nod while sitting on the edge of the bed.

''Mark and I have a child… I'm a mother…'' I kept telling myself repeatedly, unable to believe the words leaving my mouth. ''Oh god.'' I said under my breath.

''You're sort of a mother, yes. You may not have had her the traditional way but she is definitely your child.'' Agnes said with a small giggle.

''Do you think this is funny?!'' I yelled at the doctor, lightly freaking out and nearly knocking over the empty soup bowl from last night.

''Calm down Nathalie, the fact that this girl is related is the least of our worries right now.'' Agnes said calmly, unphased by my yelling.

''What do you mean? What could be worse than having a child to take care of at the age of twenty?!'' I asked, a hint of worry in my voice.

''Well let's start with the fact that Mark is trying to fix his own mistakes by running away with her and the fact that Pete is not pleased with the whole situation.'' Agnes explained hastily, clearly worried.

''His mistakes?''

''Before we found out about the relation between the three of you, Mark and Pete had a little talk about what to do with the girl since the base isn't the best place to keep her locked up.'' Agnes said, getting more angsty by the minute.

''So out of frustration he suggested she should be locked up in the same facility where we put Yasuo.'' I finished Agnes her explanation, catching onto the problem. ''And the Battlecast attack on the convoy was the perfect opportunity to take her…''

''Hm… It would seem so but that's not what Cooper described in his report since Mark received a shoulder injury, plus he and the girl were blasted out of sight right before the Battlecast was destroyed.'' Agnes stopped me from continuing my story, adding some minor details.

'' _So him holding his shoulder in pain after my attack was because of a previous injury… I hope he's doing alright.''_ I thought to myself, making a knot of guilt form in my stomach.

'' _Nathalie we couldn't have known… I know you, you wouldn't have used Solar Flare with that much force if you knew he was injured.''_ Leona said, trying to keep a positive mindset.

'' _Dammit if I just listened to him! All of this could have been avoided…''_ I thought, gripping the sheets of the bed tighter, making my fists shake a little.

'' _Nath we can still fix this! You're not alone! Don't be like Mark… please.''_ Leona said, bringing a small smile to my face and giving me an idea.

''I got it!'' I said throwing off the sheets of the bed, startling Agnes awake.

''What!? What's going on!?'' Agnes said looking around the bedroom in shock. ''Ah sorry, I must've fallen asleep… hehe.''

''Agnes I figured out how we're going to get Mark and that girl back to us without using violence! I just need to-*Achoo!*'' I said getting ready to leave the bed before being stopped by both my sneeze and Agnes.

''If you're thinking about leaving this bed then that fever has really gotten to your head Nath.'' Leona said as Agnes gave me a stern look.

''But-''

''Leona is right. You're not going anywhere until your fever has gone down and until your cold has subsided.'' Agnes said agreeing with Leona almost instantly.

*Sigh* ''I know you two are right, but I just can't shake this guilty feeling-'' I was interrupted by a light buzzing noise and Agnes raising a finger while taking the phone call she was receiving.

''Sir?'' She answered the phone formally and serious, her face turning to one of worry as the person on the otherside of the line started to talk more. ''Yes sir I understand but-'' Agnes was quickly cut off and frowned. ''Yes sir I'm with her right now. No sir she's in no state to go out in the field. I understand, I'll be right there…'' Agnes said putting away her phone with a sigh.

''It's time…'' She said looking out of the bedroom window, overlooking the streets down below. ''Nathalie I need to leave, Pete needs me.'' she said turning back to me.

''It's Mark, isn't it?'' I asked, already knowing the answer.

''No more secrets… Atleast not from me.'' Agnes said with a sigh followed by a friendly smile. ''Yes, he was spotted leaving a large locomotive at the train station with a young girl.

''So what's the plan?'' I asked, feeling the need to know although I couldn't help at all.

''Well, Pete doesn't know the full picture so I'm afraid this is either going to go sour quick or it's going to turn into a manhunt…'' Agnes said, not facing me anymore and preparing to leave the bedroom. ''I'm sorry Nathalie but there's nothing I can do; I have no saying in the orders I receive…''

''Agnes wait!'' I yelled before she could close the bedroom door behind her.

''What is it Nath?''

''If you're able to… Please help Mark in any way you can. I don't want my boyfriend and my daughter to get locked up in a prison.'' I asked with a small, hopeful smile.

''I-I'll see what I can do for them…'' Agnes said closing the door on me, leaving me alone in the bedroom.

''I know she'll try everything she can to help them.'' Leona said, trying to reassure me.

''I know Leo, but something's not right…'' I said getting comfortable under the sheets of the bed again and turning on the tv in our bedroom.

* * *

''Cathy don't trail off to far! Excuse me, miss. Cathy! Get back here!'' I yelled at Cathy as she made her way through the hordes of people walking while I bumped into people, trying to keep up with her.

Watching Cathy's expression change every time she encountered something she had never seen before like the copper statues in the city or the tall buildings and the digital adds playing on them brought a smile to my face, which quickly faded again as I needed to take a break from walking.

'' _Mark are you feeling alright?''_ Yi asked mentally with a hint of worry in his otherwise calm voice. _''This is the third time you're stopping; at this rate, we'll lose Cathy and Ashe.''_

'' _I know, I know… The waves of pain and soreness are increasing Yi… I don't know how long I'm going to last at this rate.''_ I told him while massaging my thighs.

''' _Hmm, I thought so. Do you want me to take some weight off your legs with the armor?''_ Yi asked, hoping he could help a little.

'' _As nice as that sounds, no. The street is too crowded plus we'll stand out way too much, we would be found out within seconds.''_ I told my companion while slowly picking up the pace again to catch up with Cathy.

'' _Alright, just tell me when and I'll take off some of the weight.''_ Yi reassured me.

''Mark are you feeling alright? You've been slowing down more since we got off the train…'' Cathy asked, sitting atop of a copper horse statue.

''I'm fine Cathy, just don't walk too far away from me alright?'' I asked her with a bit of worry in my voice. ''And get off that statue, it's not meant for riding.''

''Yeah, yeah.'' Cathy said standing on the horse's back before jumping down next to me. ''Say where are we going anyway? You never told me where we're going to get this medicine.''

''Well since Pete probably has everyone on lookout so the base won't be an option…'' I said scratching my chin.

''So we're on a wild goose chase? We're just walking around the city aimlessly until you figure something out?!'' Cathy asked turning to me with a surprised face.

''Let me finish my sentence sweetie.'' I said putting a finger on her lips forcing her to stop talking. ''We're not walking around aimlessly, there is a few places in the city where we might be able to get some of the medicine.''

''Well? Tell me!'' Cathy asked, almost running around me like a hyperactive child.

''We're going to an emergency locker.'' I said with a small smile as Cathy and I slowly began to walk again.

''A locker?''

''Small lockers hidden in the city with supplies for Nathalie, Damian and me.'' Before I could continue my explanation Cathy already interrupted me again.

''Why would you need that?'' She asked curious. _''This kid…''_

''We have these lockers in case of a citywide attack like the one months ago and we get wounded or need to refill our supplies in the field.'' I explained, thinking back to the fights in the city right before our vacation.

''I never knew that this city was attacked before…'' Cathy said looking around the skyline, admiring the large buildings.

''I suppose Viktor never bothered to tell you or maybe it was before you were born... or created… I mean-''

''…I get it…'' Cathy said, locking eyes with me. Her expression going from happy to sad. ''You're right it was probably before I was born.''

''Cathy I didn't mean it like that.'' I said as Cathy looked away.

''It's alright.'' Cathy said looking back at me with a small smile. ''I get it, I'm not like the other kids, I'm special but that doesn't make you less my dad or Nathalie less my mom.''

*Sigh* ''Thank you for looking at it from that perspective, what would I do without your optimism.'' I said, my smile returning to my face as I put my arm around Cathy and pulled her closer, making her giggle.

''You know, you still haven't answered my question.'' Cathy said looking up at me. ''Were can we find this locker?''

''The closest locker should be around the memorial building, it's a few blocks away. Hopefully that locker has some medicine in it.'' I said pointing at a sign which gave directions to the building I was talking about.

''Then we better hurry up!'' Cathy said, struggling lose from my grasp and running in the direction the sign was pointing at.

* * *

Before I knew it I was running ahead of Mark again, this time making sure to look behind me every now and then to make sure that I wasn't 'going too far' as he would say. I was starting to get used to the tall buildings around me and payed little attention to them anymore, that and I started to focus more on getting to this locker that Mark talked about.

''Whoa…'' I stopped dead in my tracks and looked up as I passed the corner. Around the corner was a more open area with even more people walking around then before. Every building was decorated with different commercial signs; Some even had moving pictures making me wonder if these were holograms or not.

''Nice, isn't it?'' Mark asked after catching up to me. His eyes also looking up at the commercial signs. ''So what building needed renovations? Can you spot it?'' He asked with a small grin.

''Pfff, easy. That one!'' I said pointing at a building with a large banner hanging from it showing off an orange figure staring down a giant red figure. ''You must come here often to check it out.''

''You might think so, but I'd rather not.'' Mark said walking ahead of me with his hands in his pockets.

''But why? Isn't it amazing to have something amazing like this dedicated to you?'' I asked confused before noticing Mark walking up ahead. ''Hey wait up! Answer me!''

''Let's just say that it brings back bad memories…'' Mark said stopping next to a small maintenance building.

''Wait this… is it?'' I asked catching up to Mark before looking around if anyone was watching. ''I was expecting more to be honest.''

''That's exactly the idea.'' Mark said taking out an orange keycard, presenting it to me. ''Aright Cathy, the moment I unlock this door with my card an alarm will be triggered and will notify the base that my card was used.''

''So we're on the clock?'' I asked him, getting a bit concerned.

''Right so it's a in and out, no time to waste got it?'' I nodded and he inserted the card into the special lock which unlocked the door.

I followed Mark into the small building which proved to not be made for many people as it got pretty crowded with only us inside. ''Is it me or is it hard to breathe in here?'' I asked, noticing the change in atmosphere.

''No AC in here, so one more reason to be quick I suppose.'' Mark said as we passed a generator and some panels with wiring going into the generator. ''Don't touch a thing.'' Mark said as he gave the generator a push, revealing a locked door hidden behind it.

I looked on as he wiped off some dust from the small door and put his keycard against it, making a beeping noise followed by a loud ***Click*** , Mark flung open the door and began emptying the locker throwing stuff pass me.

''Nope.'' I heard him mutter as a set of bandages flew past my head. ''Not it either.'' He said, a small container with pills flew pass me. ''Come one…'' Mark began to sound desperate and with a powerful throw, threw a pack of food over my head.

Suddenly Mark let his head hang in frustration, holding something in his hands. Clearly whatever he found upset him as his hands were visibly shaking.

''Mark?'' I tried to get his attention so I could look at what he found. ''What is it?''

''…'' He didn't say a word, but showed a piece of paper.

''Looking for Hex? You underestimate me Markus. Surrender and I will make sure you get what you want.'' The paper was signed by someone named Pete, a phone number written underneath it.

''He knew I would come looking for it here.'' Mark said ripping the paper to shreds.

''Mark…'' I could literally feel how angry he was, like it radiated off him. I'd never seen him act like this, this new act scaring me a little.

''That damn weasel knew!'' He said a bit louder before slamming his fist into the door of the locker.

''M-Mark you're scaring me!'' I said taking a few steps away from him, a few tears of fear forming in my eyes. ''T-This isn't you…''

*Sigh* ''FUCK!''

''Papa…'' I said with tears in my eyes as I hit the otherside of the small building with my back.

The sound of my weeping must have snapped him back to reality as he instantly looked my way with a surprised expression on his face which turned to one of regret. ''Oh god Cathy, I'm so sorry!'' The words bringing me a bit of comfort. ''We need to go.''

I gave him a quick nod as he turned around and left the building, leaving me in the small building to dry my tears.

* * *

I leaned against to the entrance of the maintenance building before slapping myself in the face. ''Stupid! What must Cathy think of me?'' I told myself before turning to my legs as another wave of pain surged through them. ''Why now of all times…?'' I asked closing my eyes in pain.

''Mark? A-Are you alright?! You look like you're in a lot of pain...'' I heard Cathy gasp.

''It's fine, we should just go to the next locker and hope we find something there.'' I said with a forced smile. _''If we even make it that far.''_

''Mark you're visibly sweating from the pain! How bad is this going to get?!'' Cathy yelled loudly, clearly loud enough for others around us to hear.

''It can't get much worse than this… The next step is complete function loss, so like I said It's fine.'' I said through gritted teeth as I stood up straight. The waves of pain increasing the more weight I put on my legs.

''Stop lying to me!'' Cathy yelled giving me a shove, knocking me into the maintenance building which I used for support. ''Now you're going to be honest with me and tell me; How bad is it?! Dammit I'm worried about you!''

''Let's just say that if we don't get a move on the pain is going to top the charts…'' I said forcing myself to walk forward. ''Come on Cathy, we're on the clock here.''

''…'' Cathy stood her ground, giving me an angry look before crossing her arms.

''Cathy. Come. Here.'' I said strictly, shooting her an angry glare that, compared to hers was way worse making her gulp and comply.

''B-But what if every locker is already cleared? You know, since that's the most likely outcome.'' Cathy suggested carefully, keeping her voice down.

''Did you notice that?'' I asked her, raising my finger while looking around us and ignoring her question.

''What?''

''Exactly, where did all the people in the streets go?'' I told Cathy as she too noticed the completely deserted streets which were crowded just a moment ago.

''I have a bad feeling about-'' Cathy was cut off by a loud ***BANG*** , forcing the both of us to look up into the sky. ''What's that?!''

We both noticed a large machine hovering above the skyline, slowly making its way down towards us. It seemed to be holding four rotating pillars with a canon in the middle, holding the four rotating pillars together.

''No time to waste! Let's go!'' I yelled giving Cathy a few weak pushes to get her to move before stumbling after her. ''I'll catch up once I'm up to speed! I promise!''

''You better!'' Cathy yelled as I slowly began to run after her, the machine hovering right above us.

After a few hundred meters of running the machine released the pillars it was carrying, shooting them directly into the ground, destroying the concrete and digging the pillars into the ground before they lined up and formed a barrier, trapping both Cathy and me inside.

''What is that thing?! What are these pillars?! Why are we trapped!?'' Cathy began to panic, looking at me for answers. ''Mark what's going on!?''

''I have no idea Cathy…'' I answered all her questions while still looking at the floating machine in the skyline. _''Is it going to shoot us with that canon? If yes, why not do it right now?''_

''Perhaps it isn't made to harm people?'' Yi suggested, drawing Cathy's attention.

''Then what is it supposed to be doing? That's a giant canon, isn't it?'' She asked Yi, her eyes never leaving the machine in the sky.

''I don't like the fact that we're trapped in here Cathy… Armor up, I don't trust this.'' I told her as I fused with Yi, the familiar armor taking a bit of weight off my legs.

''Recon mode engaged.'' Ashe her voice came from Cathy her armor, the hood of her armor appearing out of thin air while Cathy checked her bow. ''We're operational.'' Ashe confirmed.

''Yi activate the stealth drive in the armor. Let's see if we can remain hidden from their radars for now.'' I said, the armor's tint turning darker and the lights dimming before turning grey.

''So cool…'' I heard Cathy mutter while I inspected my armor's functionality, making me crack a small smile.

''This is no time to get sidetracked kiddo, take the high ground and see if you can scout us an exit.'' I said pointing towards a large apartment complex which housed an empty store below. ''This barrier might not have a roof, that could be our way out.''

''What? But! What if-'' Cathy protested as I broke open the door and pointed towards the stairs leading up.

''No buts, we don't know what's coming our way! I'm tasking you with the most important task right now! Go!'' I said pushing her into the store.

''Fine, fine I'm going! Jeez!'' Cathy said running up the stairs, looking for a way out.

''Wasn't it better to just tell her about the approaching signal?'' Yi asked right after Cathy disappeared from my vision.

''No, it literally popped up two seconds ago, it's better if she's focused on getting us out of here instead of worrying about what the hell is closing in.'' I said, feeling a bit rushed. ''What can you tell me about it?''

''Not much, the signal reminds me of that of a Battlecast.'' Yi said, deep in thought.

''So it's one of Viktor's?'' I asked inspecting my blade.

''No, the signal isn't the same, it seems slightly altered, almost familiar.'' Yi said, showing me a comparison of that of a Battlecast and this new signal.

''How fast is it approaching?''

''It's hard to tell…''

''How come?''

''Have a look for yourself.'' Yi said, closing the comparing signals and opened a map around our location, a red dot on the map closing in extremely fast.

* * *

 ***Fifteen minutes' prior***

''Are you sure you can do this? I'll gladly take your place; you don't have to do this.'' Alisha said giving me a worried look as I took a seat in the pilot seat.

''No, I've got to do this. I made a promise and now I must keep it.'' I assured her with a smile. ''I'll be fine, I created a great copilot, nothing can go wrong.''

''Where have I heard that sentence before?'' Alisha asked with a skeptical look on her face.

''No idea what you're talking about.'' I giggled before blowing her a kiss. ''Now get back to the communication center, I need to do some last moment checks before taking off.''

''Whatever you say, this is your mission I suppose.'' I saw Alisha blush slightly as the cockpit slowly closed. ''Good luck Angie.''

'' _Thanks I'll need it…''_

''Agnes, you there?'' Pete's voice rang through the cockpit as it lit up, multiple holographic menu's popping up, one menu showing me that the communication system worked as intended. ''We have a lock on the targets, the satellite is moving into position to trap the targets and is ready to assist if needed.''

''Hearing you loud and clear command, open the hatch while I prepare for launch.'' I ordered while flipping a few switches above my head, making multiple lights turn green and a safety hologram pop up.

'' _[Initiate copilot protocolY/N]''_

'' _[Y]''_

'' _[Booting up copilot protocolpassword requiredcontinueY/N]''_

'' _[Y]''_

'' _[Input password]''_

'' _[********]''_

'' _[Access grantedBooting up copilot…]''_

''Good afternoon Sion, ready to assist me today?'' I asked after a moment of silence in the cockpit.

''System boot complete, removing vocal limitations. Acknowledged doctor, standing by for assist.'' The custom Ai answered in its deep voice. ''Establishing link with pilot.''

''I didn't tell you to do that.'' I told the Ai who activated multiple programs, nearly taking full control of the machine. ''Sion answer me!''

''Apologies pilot, I am merely aiding you in achieving optimal functionality as soon as possible, command has already confirmed our targets.'' The Ai said passively.

''Alright just… don't do it again.'' I said taking control and forced the machine forward slowly. ''Command are we clear for takeoff?''

''I'll take it from here Pete. You are clear for takeoff; I repeat clear for takeoff, good luck MZS.'' I heard Alisha say over the communication link.

''Thank you command. Launching in 3… 2… 1…''

* * *

''Mark I don't think you need that map anymore!'' Yi yelled while closing the map, giving me a clear view of something orange closing in with high speed.

''You've got to be kidding me.'' I said, trying to jump out of the way before noticing my legs not being able to move at all. _''Now of all times?! Really!?''_

I could only watch as the orange spot got closer, showing no signs of stopping even when I could start making out the shape of a sort of armored vehicle.

'' _This is going to hurt.''_ I thought bracing myself for the impact with the machine.

Right before the collision, the armored vehicle's sides popped open to reveal two metal arms pushing it into the air where it began to twist and turn, forming a sort of humanoid shape which slammed into me with full force, sending me flying backward.

''Ugh, one hell of a hit…'' I said, slowly pushing myself up from the ground before looking towards the large orange humanoid robot. ''And you are?'' I asked as I got a good look at the machine.

Most of its large chassis was covered in orange armored plating, featuring a few streaks of white paint serving as decoration. The only visible part of its chassis was the large turbine which shone a bright blue emitting high amounts of energy. What stood out the most directly was the large piece of shoulder armor on its left shoulder, which its right had way less of.

The most intimidating part of the large machine was its head, not only was it big it also had this protector around the mouth area which didn't connect and moved every time the machine spoke, making it look like a set of metal pincers.

''Stand down or be crushed beneath my feet.'' Its metallic voice exclaimed.

''Oh straight to the point I see, feeling like a big boy already?'' I asked sarcastically as I slowly stood back up, holding my blade above my head with one hand.

''Surrender yourself and the young female.'' The metallic voice ordered, more strictly this time.

''Sorry big boy, as you can see I'm all alone. She's long gone.'' I said shrugging with my free hand, hoping it would distract the mecha.

''It would be far less painful if you would quit your games and surrendered both yourself and the young female, this is your final warning.'' The mech warned, drawing back one of its fists.

''We'll see about that.'' I said charging the large mech before lunging forward with my blade, hoping to impale the turbine in its chest.

Right before my blade connected with the mech it sidestepped my attack and grabbed me as I flew past it. Its grip was extremely strong, squeezing both my ribs and back before throwing me into the ground pass the spot where I lay a moment ago.

''Alright that… hurt.'' I muttered slowly getting back up.

''Combat sequence initiated with O'Neill, Markus, analyzing fight pattern for an optimal counter-attack, disabling combat safety lock.'' The metallic voice said before its voice changed, suddenly becoming more violent. ''I will enjoy crushing your human bones underneath my-''

'' **PILOT OVERRIDE INITIATED''** The mech exclaimed loudly, returning to its more passive state of voice.

'' _That thing has a pilot? It can't be…''_

''Mark stand down! I don't want to hurt you!'' Agnes her voice came from the mech. ''Drop your weapon and surrender!''

''And what if I don't?'' I challenged, putting both hands on my blade.

''Don't make me do this Mark… I promised Nathalie.'' Agnes sounded hurt, clearly not wanting to fight me. ''Please just surrender, the both of you.'' Agnes said as the mech looked around the makeshift arena.

''I won't give up.'' I said, my grip tightening around the handle of my blade. ''I won't watch as Cathy gets locked up.''

*Sigh* ''I'm sorry Nathalie… I tried.'' The mech started to move with blinding speed, charging me with one fist pulled back, ready to send my flying again.

Right before the punch could connect I blocked with the flat side of my blade, keeping one hand on the hilt and positioning the other on the blade's flat side absorbing most of the hit.

''As expected.'' I heard Agnes mutter as the thrusters in the back of the mech activated, the additional power slowly pushing me back.

I grunted in pain as I dug my legs into the ground for extra grip, only to see the concrete of the ground below slowly starting to break up. ''Ngh- That all you got?'' I asked through the grunts of pain.

''Now you're just asking for it!'' Agnes said, sounding annoyed as the mech pulled back its fist and slammed its full body into me, launching me back into the barrier created by the pillars. Electrocuting me and keeping me on the ground.

''Ready to give up yet?'' Agnes asked, the mech standing down for a moment while I tried to get back up from the power of the electric shock I received.

''Just because you have some shiny new toys…? No way.'' I said, barely managing to support my upper body with my arms.

''Just tell the girl to surrender herself and this is all over Mark.'' Agnes ordered. ''Please don't make this any harder than it already is.''

''Cathy!'' I yelled as loud as I could. ''Whatever you do, stay hidden and run if you can…'' I yelled again. ''You're… You're on your own again… I'm sorry…'' I told myself, letting my head hang in defeat.

'' **MECH OVERRIDE INITIATED** '' The mech suddenly exclaimed before starting to move again. ''All these security measures… Are annoying.'' The mech said, the violent tone returning in its voice.

''What?!'' I heard Agnes yell as the mech aimed its hand towards me, a red laser pointing down at me.

Above the fight, the large machine still hovered and began readying to shoot something down. It did take a bit longer than I expected as I managed to get back on my feet but didn't have enough time to run.

''SION WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!'' Agnes screamed as the canon of the floating machine shot down a large object.

With a loud ***CLANG*** , the object hit the ground where I was standing, creating a large cloud of dust from all the destroyed concrete.

''Oh god, what did you do Sion!?'' Agnes yelled at Ai who was busy scanning the area it crushed. ''What was that for!?''

''I did what you are incapable of doing.'' Sion stated coldly.

''And that is?! Crushing one of our greatest allies?!'' Agnes yelled out in panic.

''Mission intel suggests that armor worn by the enemy is highly capable of receiving and enduring such an attack.'' Sion told his pilot, a sudden hint of displeasure in its voice. ''No target detected… Target escaped.''

''Oh thank god.'' Agnes said with a sigh of relieve.

* * *

''What!? How am I not crushed?!'' Mark nearly yelled before turning his head to me. ''Cathy! How did you- Ah I see…'' He said looking at my glowing palms

''What do you think you're doing? Were you just going to stand there and take that shot?'' I asked panting lightly due to using my overdrive to both grab and drag Mark to safety in time.

''I couldn't move… My legs wouldn't budge at all.'' He explained after taking off his helmet, showing his face, a thin stream of blood running down his head.

''You weren't afraid, were you?'' I asked with a small grin.

''Of course not!'' Mark said taking a seat against the wall of the building I dragged him into. ''I don't think my legs are going to last much longer.''

''What?!''

''Function loss remember?'' He said with a forced grin. ''Just… listen to me, Cathy. I want you to run, get out of here, I'll buy you as much time as I can.''

''Are you crazy?! Facing off against that thing all alone? No! I won't let you!'' I yelled getting a bit angry.

''You listen here young lady, in a few minutes I'm going to be nothing more than dead weight so let me do this one thing to help you out!'' Mark yelled, grabbing both my arms and forcing me to look at him. His expression a mix of sadness and pain.

''But… But you promised! We'd be a family! You were going to clear my name!'' I nearly screamed, feeling the tears forming in my eyes.

Before the tears could roll down my cheeks my eyes went wide out of surprise. Mark leaned forward and gently kissed my forehead.

''I will find a way to clear your name and I will find you again. I promise.'' He whispered before putting his helmet back on and getting up from his seat with a grunt. ''Go, the more time you sit here, the more is wasted.''

I couldn't move for a moment, the new experience leaving me paralyzed due to the sign of affection. Right before I could say anything Mark had already walked out of the hiding spot, leaving me with one of the toughest decisions of my life.

* * *

'' _Yi, how much time do I have before I can wave goodbye to walking?''_

'' _Following my calculations, I would say roughly fifteen minutes…''_ Yi said a bit worried. _''I highly advise against it though, it's all based on a theory and we don't know what consequences this might have on your body.''_

'' _Doesn't matter right now. If we're able to buy Cathy time to get out of here it's all worth it.''_ I told Yi as I noticed I was now behind the mech. ''Yo rust bucket! Over here!''

''You aren't going to give peace a chance, are you?'' Agnes asked as only Sion's head turned towards me, its blue eyes glaring at me.

''You made sure of that when you decided to shoot at me with that canon.'' I taunted as I readied my blade.

''I never intended to drop the mech weapon onto you, Sion's Ai took over!'' Agnes yelled desperately while the mech's body hunched forward to grab something from the destroyed concrete. ''Please Mark! You must believe me! It was-''

''Me.'' Sion said, turning its entire body to face me. By doing so he revealed what was shot down by the machine in the air, a large rocket-powered hammer matching his orange plating.

Almost immediately after turning to face me Sion charged at impressive speed, its large armored shoulder aimed towards me before shifting from a shoulder charge into a swing with its hammer giving me barely any time to react.

The only way for me to avoid the powerful swing was to roll underneath it which unfortunately hurt due to having to jump forward.

After missing the swing the mech tried its best to regain control over the hammer which proved to be a challenge for both Sion and his pilot due to the force being added by the rockets. This gave me a small window to retaliate.

I readied Wuju Style and sliced into the back of the mech's armored spine, earning a grunt of annoyance from Sion and a scream of pain from Agnes who seemed to be connected to the mecha armor.

''You little pest!'' Sion grunted in anger as he grabbed for me with his armored arm, nearly getting a hold of me if it wasn't for me using Alpha Strike to avoid the large hand.

The moment I left Alpha Strike I noticed the attack hadn't inflicted damage to the armor, nor did my follow up attack on the armored spine. Instead, my blade just bounced off like it was blocked by something.

''What the-OOF'' I yelled out of surprise, not expecting the mecha to turn that fast and shoulder charge me back into a building, making me drop my blade in the process.

As the mecha turned I noticed the turbine in its chest was emitting a bright orange light instead of the usual blue. _''It must be using more power than usual.''_

''Prepare to be decimated.'' Sion said as the mech positioned the rocket hammer over his head, charging up Decimating Smash while I lay on the ground recovering from the most recent blow.

Right as the rocket hammer moved down slightly and passed the mech's head a burst of blue arrows hit the large weapon, knocking it off course and forcing the hammer to miss me.

'' _Cathy?!''_

''Are you going to surrender yourself to keep him safe?'' I heard Agnes asked while Cathy presented herself, walking into the open, an arrow drawn back on her bow.

''That wasn't really my plan.'' She warned. ''Let us out of this trap and I might consider leaving your body intact mech.''

''Big words for a little girl.'' Sion said with venom in his voice before pulling his weapon from the ground and turning to her. ''Let's see what you're made of.''

After the taunt from the Ai, Cathy fired the arrow on her bow. At the same time, the mech's turbine shot forward, firing a bolt of pure energy towards Cathy.

The energy bolt shot pass Cathy's arrow and flew straight at her, forcing her to roll to the side before taking a knee and firing a Volley of arrows towards the mech, hoping to deal a bit more damage.

The first fired arrow didn't have any effect as it was absorbed by something, just like the last two swings from my blade. Most of the arrows from the Volley followed and were also absorbed, dealing no damage to the mech.

''Dammit Cathy, I told you to get out of here!'' I yelled at her as I slowly managed to stand on my wonky legs while watching her avoid the large mech that was slowly advancing towards her.

''There's no way out of here! And last time I checked you could use all the help you could get!'' Cathy yelled back as she dodged a swing from the rocket hammer and rolled through the juggernaut's legs. ''Can we argue about this later?! This thing looks pretty tough!''

''Fair enough!'' I said charging the mech, picking up my blade as it swung towards Cathy again, intercepting the hammer with my own blade, locking weapons just in time to keep her from getting hit. ''You were fighting me, not her.'' I grunted.

''Why?'' Sion said as he broke the lock, knocking me back slightly. ''Won't you.'' He continued as he grabbed my waist with his free hand. ''Stay down.'' Sion said after slamming me into the ground, moving his head extremely close to mine as if he was making a statement.

''And now what? You're just going to stand here and-NGH'' I was cut off by the mech's grip tighten around my waist until light cracking could be heard coming from my armor.

Suddenly the mech's hand detached, leaving me stuck in the ground. Afterwards, the mech moved his now handless arm into the air, signaling the flying machine to fire something down.

''R-Really…?'' I asked in disbelieve as I watched the machine shoot down a replacement hand for the mech.

''Now, where were we?'' Sion asked as he turned his attention back to Cathy who had been firing arrow after arrow into the mech, none of the arrows having any effect since they would be absorbed.

* * *

'' _Why aren't any of our attacks doing any damage?''_ I thought to myself, watching the large mech pin Mark down on the ground.

'' _Isn't it obvious?''_ Ashe asked, invading my thoughts.

'' _Not really, but feel free to share anything, if you know something that I don't.''_ I said as the mech inspected its new hand, moving it around a few times before setting its gaze on me.

'' _It's an energy shield, does that ring any bells?''_ Ashe asked, making me remember something.

'' _The old prototype Battlecast that sis and I used for practice!''_

'' _Ding, ding, ding, your prize is a chance at getting around that shield.''_ Ashe said sarcastically. _''If we manage to overheat its core, we might have a fighting chance.''_

'' _Got it!''_ I nodded, running towards the edge of the barrier to set my plan in motion. ''Hey gearhead! Over here!''

''Coming up with clever remarks, now are we?'' Sion asked getting annoyed. ''I'll crush you both!'' He yelled wildly swinging the rocket hammer near me, hoping for a hit.

''Sorry to break it to you big guy but we're faster!'' Ashe joined in on the taunting as she caught onto my plan. _''Are you sure you want to go through this plan? It will hurt a lot.''_

''I don't have a choice!'' I yelled avoiding another swing, getting in close and firing another Volley at point blank range.

''Foolish.'' Sion taunted as he fired another bolt of energy from the turbine, sending me flying into the barrier, electrocuting me and knocking me to the ground. ''You really are a child.'' He said, raising his hammer in quick succession to the bolt, making sparks fly from the orange glowing turbine.

'' _It's working!''_

''Sion don't! You're going to overload the armor if you-AAAGH'' The mech pilot yelled in agony as Sion slammed down the hammer, not only missing me since I jumped away just in time using the overdrive but also hitting the barrier, electrocuting the mech and its pilots.

The mech's shield dropped with a large explosion, leaving it coated in a large black smokescreen, giving me a moment to help Mark back up from the hand holding him in place.

''C'mon get up we need to go!'' I yelled while taking an arrow from my bow and stabbing the mechanical hand with it, breaking off a few fingers until Mark could break the hand's grip.

''It's no use Cathy… I can't move.'' Mark panted, grabbing one of his legs in pain.

''I-I'll carry you… Hold on!'' I said in panic, desperately trying to carry Mark on my back. ''We're going to make it! I'll-'' I was interrupted by a part of the rocket hammer hitting me, knocking Mark away from me.

'' **PILOT SIGNAL LOST, COPILOT MAINTAINING CONTROL.''** Sion's voice exclaimed as he limped out of the black smoke.

The turbine in the mech's chest was back to blue but sparks could be seen flying out of it. One of its feet was damaged, missing the whole front part which would help balance the juggernaut. The heavily armored arm was missing pieces of its armor, the other arm that normally held the hammer was split in half, oil leaking from the appendage.

''C-C-Come He-e-e-re.'' Sion repeated parts of its sentence while he forced the mecha to limp out of the smoke, signaling the machine floating above the fight to shoot down a new foot. ''I'm not done y-y-yet!'' He roared as he ran towards us with his newly replaced foot.

''We need to move kid!'' Ashe yelled at me as I managed to stand on my quivering legs. Using the overdrive twice within such a small window left me exhausted. ''One well-aimed shot will take it down!''

I quickly checked my bow, hoping there was still ammo left. _''Six shots left… Better make them count.''_ I pulled back the arrows. ''Rapid fire!'' I yelled at the top of my lungs as the last six arrows shot forward all at once.

The first three arrows missed its mark, flying into the side of the machine. The fourth shot into one of the eyeholes of the mech making it recoil slightly. The last two arrows in the burst found their target causing a small explosion inside the turbine. After the explosion, the mech stopped dead in its tracks, sparking some hope in my chest.

'' **REACTOR CORE CRITICALLY DAMAGED, REACTOR OVERHEATING''** Sion's voice exclaimed loudly before the middle of the mech began to emit a bright blue light and it started charging again. ''If I go down, you're coming with me!'' He yelled as the mech's body morphed back into its vehicle form.

I looked around in a panic, noticing I was trapped between the electric barrier and a building, the half-destroyed mech coming straight for me.

Seconds before I was crushed I felt myself get picked up and thrown to the side as the mech crashed straight into the building behind where I had been standing a moment ago.

I opened my eyes and looked at Mark, weakly standing on his legs, hunched over a bit, his hands hanging to the side. ''Mark!'' I yelled happily before his body fell backward lifelessly with a loud thud. ''MARK?!'' I screamed desperately crawling back to my feet and stumbling over.

''Help… Agnes…'' He said looking at the rubble covered mech. ''I'm just… going to… nap here.'' He chuckled before letting his head fall backward, the armor disappearing from his body.

'' _We can worry about him later, first, we need to get out of here before another one of those mechs shows up or maybe even worse.''_ Ashe said with a serious tone in her voice. _''Let's try that human pilot first.''_

* * *

''Agnes! Agnes! MZS RESPOND! Dammit, get a team out there! NOW!'' I heard screaming in the cockpit of the mech. The screams of Alisha waking me back up from the electric shock.

'' _[System unable to sustain critical damage. Core overheating, reach safe distance]''_ A holographic message flashed in front of my eyes constantly, bringing me back down to earth.

''I knew I was right about Sion's sketchy behavior…'' I scolded myself while trying to unbuckle my safety belts, noticing a hellish pain coming from my arm. _''Broken? No… Probably dislocated… shit''_

'' _[Hull breach detected.]''_ A new message presented itself, sparking some hope in me.

''In here! Please help me!'' I yelled as I could hear metal being bend.

Within seconds a part of the protective pod was pierced by a blue glowing piece of metal. _''Oh no.''_ I had no chance to say a thing as the pod was broken open further and a blue visor glared at me.

Before I knew it, I was flung out of the pod with one strong throw and onto the concrete street from the small figure who I assumed was the small girl although I had never seen her fused with Ashe before.

''You. Talk.'' She ordered towering over me with an angry glare.

''I-I-I…''

''I said, TALK!'' She yelled at me, putting one of her heels on my dislocated shoulder, making me scream out in pain. ''I can make this a lot worse.'' She said getting closer to my face, nearly whispering the words into my ear.

''W-What?'' I asked in pain.

''How do I get out of here?'' She asked angrily.

''H-H-Here…'' I said, slowly reaching for a remote in my pocket. ''This manages the barrier…'' I said presenting the remote to her.

''Good.'' The girl said before getting off my arm. ''You're lucky he knows you.'' She said snatching the remote and crushing it under her boot, making the barrier disappear.

She then turned away and walked over to an unconscious Mark on the floor. _''Please help Mark in any way you can. I don't want my boyfriend and my daughter to get locked up in a prison''_

''Wait!'' I yelled at her, making her stop in her tracks. ''I-I can help. H-Here.'' I said throwing the girl a pair of keys.''

''What am I supposed to do with this?'' She asked coldly, still tending to Mark.

''Go to my apartment… I-I'm a doctor… I can make the medicine that Mark needs.'' I explained, making the girl rush to the keys.

''If this is another trap, I will find and kill you.'' She said looking at me with a final glare before picking up Mark, putting him on her back and running off into the streets.

* * *

 **And that's a rep for now. I'm on the clock at the moment so a limited author's note for now.**

 **Yes, I am back. No, I will not quit writing my stories. Yes, I will take longer to write.**

 **Thank you for reading, sticking with my story, following, favoriting, and reviewing.**

 **All reviews are appreciated as of now.**

 **More detailed author's note coming tomorrow.**


	32. Chapter 32

PROJECT: Earth

Chapter 32: Worth the Risk

* * *

''Are you sure this is the right building Ashe?'' I asked, putting Mark down in an alleyway across from a very luxurious building.

''Mhm, that doctor's name is linked to this address, at least according to the information I could scavenge from Yi's device.'' Ashe said as I stood on the lookout, scanning the area for any possible traps.

''How were you able to- No, no time for questions.'' I said shaking my head. ''Let's just hope this works out for us.''

I defused from Ashe, her armor disappearing from my body as I carefully picked Mark back up from the ground, making sure to not cause any more injuries.

I frowned at a large rip in the black hoodie Mark had bought me, not to mention that my clothes were dirty with even a few bloodstains around some of the rips in the fabric.

I cautiously looked around the streets, waiting for a few cars to pass before deciding whether or not it was clear to cross the street.

''Looks clear for now, let's go kid.'' Ashe whispered, her voice going through my head making me nod.

I slowly made my way towards the large double doors of the building, carrying Mark on my back or at least I tried; he easily towered over me so his legs were either being dragged over the floor or dangling from my small form as I tried to piggyback him to the building.

'' _Pfff, without the extra strength from the Project armor Mark becomes a lot heavier- What… How do I?''_ I wondered as I looked at the locked doors to the building.

'' _The key kid… Did you seriously miss the keyhole in the doors?''_ Ashe said with an annoyed sigh.

'' _Hey all this stuff is new to me alright? For all I know this key is used to open the door to that doctor's house…''_ I mentally snarled at Ashe who in return let out an annoyed huff as I used the key on the doors, making them open.

''Thank goodness.'' I let out a sigh of relief and quickly made my way inside.

The lobby of the building was completely empty. There was a desk at the front door but luckily no one seemed to be manning the post. The only other thing that stood out was a television between two elevator doors, displaying the news.

My attention was drawn from the television to one of the two elevators which let out an auditory _***Ding**_. The doors didn't open just yet so I took the opportunity to look back at the television which was now displaying the news, making me gulp loudly.

Although the sound was turned off, I could clearly make out a shot from high up in the air which gave a detailed view of a destroyed building with an orange mech carcass driven into it. _''It's all my fault...''_

''Welcome home Agnes, I'll unlock the door for you and open up the blinds.'' A voice called out from out of nowhere, spooking me a little.

After a few seconds of searching for a source, I noticed one of the elevators had opened up. After making sure there really was no one else around I made my way towards the elevator.

I was a bit confused when I made my way into the elevator. There weren't any buttons to press but the doors closed on their own and the elevator began moving on its own, sparking a bit of panic in me.

''Penthouse. Going up.'' The same voice from before called out this time, making me realize that it was a prerecorded message for the elevator.

With another _***Ding***_ the doors of the elevator opened, revealing a short hallway leading towards a slightly opened door.

''Well… There's nowhere else to go.'' I sighed, carefully opening the door to the home. ''Whoa…''

I was met with an extremely luxurious house with multiple levels. I walked into a living room setting. There were a large sofa and multiple comfy chairs set up in a square around a large glass table across from a large television.

Inside the living room was a small wall with a fireplace build inside of it, next to it was a small table with framed pictures on it, most of them of two women and a younger looking boy. A part of the wall was removed for a short staircase leading up towards a kitchen area.

''This place looks wonderful.'' I said in amazement before shaking my head in annoyance. ''Stay focused for once!'' I told myself as I put Mark down on the sofa, making him groan in pain.

I looked at Mark's unconscious body. His face constantly showed a painful expression.

''We should check if he has any serious injuries.'' Ashe suddenly broke the silence in the room. ''We got away from that ambush and we found a safe place for now. Better check up on him now.''

''Right!'' I said starting to unbutton his shirt. I carefully moved my hand over his chest, feeling for any fractures. ''It doesn't feel like he broke anything.'' I said with a slight red tint on my face out of embarrassment.

''Are you sure? Why don't you feel again?'' Ashe said with a devilish laugh.

''S-shut up you!'' I yelled at the archer, making her laugh even more.

During our back and forth bickering I noticed the doorknob to the house turning slowly, alerting me of an intruder. Making me jolt up and within an instant, I fused, Ashe her armor forming around me, an arrow pulled back on the bow.

''Are you sure you're alright? For all we know your shoulder could be broken!'' A worried voice called out as two women made their way into the apartment.

''Alisha I assure you, my shoulder is fine. I'm a doctor, I know when something is broken.'' Another voice called out with a laugh. ''And you really didn't have to walk me home, I can take care of myself.''

''Yeah I know. But who's going to take care of me?'' The other voice said as both the women began to laugh. ''WHOA WHAT THE HELL!''

As the women walked into the apartment I could make out the doctor from earlier today, now with a sling around her arm, the other one that screamed out of surprise I couldn't recognize.

The unknown woman lets go of her friend and quickly reached for something, making me tense up.

''Put the bow down Robin Hood!'' She ordered, pointing a gun at me.

''Alisha! Jesus! Put the gun down!'' The other woman yelled as she instantly reached for the weapon and forced it down. Before carefully raising her free hand and taking a few steps forward.

''Agnes what the hell is going on!?'' The armed woman yelled, gripping her weapon but keeping it pointed at the floor. ''Isn't that the girl Pete wanted hunted down?!''

''I know but I promised Nathalie to keep the both of them safe!'' The doctor said, carefully making her way towards me. ''And put that gun away! You're freaking the poor girl out!'' She hissed at her friend.

'' _Nathalie? What does she know about all this?''_

''But she's the one that-'' The armed woman cut herself off when she received a glare from her friend. ''Fine…'' She said huffing before slowly putting the gun on the floor and kicking it away.

''See? We're not going to hurt you.'' The blonde said, slowly taking off the sling around her arm. ''Can you lower the bow so I can help you and Mark?''

''Alright.'' I said calmly before lowering my weapon and taking a step back, making way for the doctor to examine Mark. ''As far as I know, he doesn't have any broken bones.'' I said as the doctor was about to repeat what I just did.

''You know how to do that? Clever girl.'' She said with a smile. ''Alisha!'' She called out to the other woman who straightened up in an instant. ''Grab me my medical supplies from my lab, quickly!''

Without a second thought, she rushed up the stairs trusting her partner to make the right decision.

''The wound on his head isn't anything special, but his shoulder needs serious attention plus I need to grab a larger dose of Hex for him…'' The blonde muttered to herself, her brows furrowed.

''Hex?'' I asked interestedly.

''Mhm, you probably already know this but Mark has special prosthetics in his legs that need a weekly dose of medicine. It's a one of a kind medicine, made especially for him by yours truly.'' The doctor explained as the other woman ran back in with a large pile of supplies.

''There you go. I just grabbed as much as I could.'' She said slightly out of breath. ''Angie you sure we can trust her?''

''Of course we can, I'd trust anyone of Mark and Nathalie's family with my life.'' The doctor said with a small smile as she put on surgical gloves and mask before cleaning the large wound on Mark's shoulder.

''Why's that? You don't know me.'' I said surprised by the doctor's words.

''My thoughts exactly.'' The other woman said, not taking her eyes off me. ''What if she turns on us after you do your job?''

''Alisha! Quit it!'' The busy doctor said annoyed. ''Mark and Nathalie are good people, there's no doubt their daughter would be any different.''

''That's not how genetics work Agnes.'' Alisha muttered just loud enough for us to hear.

''Don't lecture me on genetics!'' Agnes said moving down her surgical mask, showing off her angry look. ''And even if she was evil I'm sure that being around Mark for a while has its positive effects.'' She said before moving the mask back up and continuing on treating the wound.

'' _She's really naïve… But not wrong, is she?''_

''I'm sorry.'' Agnes suddenly said, still fixated on fixing up Mark's shoulder.

''For what? You're offering us aid and a place to hide.'' I said taking a seat in one of the comfy chairs. ''You did nothing wrong.''

''I'm a doctor and a scientist, not a murderer. The last thing I wanted was to kill you or Mark, but I almost did… if it wasn't for you… Well, Sion would have killed Mark. Thank you-'' Agnes cut herself off, not knowing my name.

''Cathy. Mark named me Cathy.''

''Thank you for being there for him Cathy.'' Agnes said. ''I know Mark can be really hotheaded sometimes and refuses help from anyone to protect them but he forgets that even he needs help.'' She said bandaging up Mark's shoulder.

''Heh, that sounds like Mark alright.'' I laughed a bit. ''I suppose you're used to taking care of him?''

''At this point, his injuries don't surprise me anymore, at least the ones that don't leave him on death's door don't.'' Agnes said with a huff, motioning me to follow her. ''Come I'll show you how I make Mark's medicine.''

I grabbed my bow just in case. Although I felt like I could trust Agnes. I followed Agnes up the stairs, pass the kitchen, bedrooms and bathroom towards two glass doors which led towards the roof of the building.

On the roof next to the home were two smaller buildings, one being a glasshouse filled with beautiful flowers and crops. The other looked like a smaller house with a flat roof.

I followed Agnes into the building looking like a small house. Inside were cases with vials filled with colored liquid, microscopes, workbenches, tools blueprints and a lot more machines I couldn't identify.

''What is all this?'' I asked looking around the workplace and trying really hard to keep myself from touching anything.

''I like to take work home.'' Agnes said laughing a little while grabbing multiple vials and starting to mix them before putting them in a machine which began swirling the new liquid. ''I also like to build things for around the house, whatever keeps me busy right?''

''Right.'' I said distracted by the liquid which was being violently swirled by the machine. ''So this is Hex?'' I asked as the machine quit swirling and revealed a greenish liquid.

''Correct, although the original creation process took way longer, making it now is a piece of cake.'' Agnes said carefully filling a large injection pen with the liquid. ''It's never been this long since he's had his injection so I'm going to inject a bit extra and hope for the best.'' Agnes explained as we made our way back inside her home.

''So you're not sure what this is going to do to him?'' I asked a bit worried.

''Well we did test what an overdose of Hex does to the prosthetics but not what it does to the human body.'' Agnes said carefully injecting the liquid into Mark's leg. ''But I'm sure it can't do any harm.''

''Let's hope so.'' Alisha said, making the both of us look up at her.

''Alisha! You're still here! I thought you went home to Damian.'' Agnes said with a smile.

''No reason, he's staying with his little girlfriend, something about a sleepover.'' Alisha explained with a smile. ''You did promise me a nice evening but this is not what I expected.''

''I know, I know!'' Agnes said bowing her head a couple of times to apologize. ''I wanted to make some fancy dinner and have a nice evening but-''

''It's alright.'' Alisha said raising a finger to silence Agnes. ''You can still make up for it.'' She said with a smirk, confusing me a bit.

''Before that would you mind doing one last thing for me?'' Agnes asked with a seductive voice.

''Anything.'' Alisha said, thinking she caught on.

''Could you be a dear and show Cathy the guestroom and cover Mark with a blanket for now?'' She asked, holding back laughter at Alisha's annoyed frown.

''I'll sleep on the couch, please put Mark in the guestroom.'' I said quickly, snapping the couple out of their sweet talking and making them both realize that I was in the room.

''Oh! Eghem. Almost forgot you were here.'' Agnes coughed a few times, her face turning red. ''Are you sure about that? It can get pretty chilly in here, even during the summer.''

''Mhm!'' I nodded a couple of times.

''Alright she made up her mind; Agnes say goodnight to your little friend.'' Alisha said grabbing Mark's body and throwing him over her shoulder. ''I'll put him in the bed.'' She said walking up the stairs.

''I'm sorry for Alisha's behavior, she's complicated sometimes.'' Agnes said with a small smile before getting up.

''It's alright.'' I muttered as I curled up on the couch, still fused with Ashe, but I couldn't care. At this point, I was fighting to stay awake and I was slowly losing.

Before I could drift off to sleep I felt a warm blanket being put on my form.

''There, I don't want you to catch cold.'' Agnes said with a smile.

''T-thank you, Miss Agnes.''

''Agnes! You coming or what?'' Alisha called from up the stairs. ''Oh right, and kid. Don't mind the strange sounds coming from our bedroom, it's all fine.''

''Alisha!''

''What? It's not like she heard me anyway, look.'' Alisha said pointing at me. ''She's far gone already.''

I could hear Agnes giggle softly. I felt my hood being removed and a hand carefully stroke my hair. ''Good night Cathy.'' Agnes said softly before I heard her footsteps on the stairs.

* * *

'' _*Sniff* *Sniff* what's that smell?''_ I wondered as I opened my eyes to the light in the house. I noticed I wasn't wearing Ashe her armor anymore. _''She must have defused after I fell asleep…''_

''Ugh'' I tried to talk but only a groan came out.

''Good morning sleepy head,'' I heard Agnes say sweetly from the kitchen area. ''I thought you weren't going to wake up, hee hee.''

I didn't respond, forcing my body up from the couch. My head felt like it was about to explode and my whole body felt like it was on fire. _''Alright Cathy this happened before, you just overdid it again… This is nothing new…''_

''Cathy? Are you alright?'' Agnes asked checking up on me from the upper kitchen area. She was wearing an apron and was holding a pan.

I still didn't reply and instead forced myself to stand up. The lack of energy and pain in my body forced me to the ground instantly, giving me barely any time to react and catch myself right before I hit the floor face first.

''Cathy!'' Agnes yelled. I could hear a pan slam down on a stove and her rushing on the small set of stairs.

''Don't…'' I said, weakly raising my hand. ''I need to do this… alone.''

''What are you talking about? Something's clearly wrong!'' Agnes yelled, crouching down so she could face me. ''Please let me help you.''

''I don't need help.'' I said getting back on the sofa. ''I just overused that stupid power again… Everything hurts right now, but I'll manage.'' I explained to the blonde doctor, letting my head hang for a moment, the pain in my body slowly becoming bearable.

''Hmm… This never happened to Mark. Then again, you two aren't completely identical.'' Agnes muttered her brows furrowed again. ''Maybe it has something to do with your diet or maybe-''

''Thank you for your concern Miss Agnes, but I'll be alright.'' I said forcing a smile as Agnes kept on muttering to herself. ''How is Mark doing? How are his shoulder and his legs?'' I asked not bothering to wait for an answer and slowly made my way to the guestroom.

I carefully opened the door to the guestroom and snuck in. The blinds in the room were closed so there was barely any light in the room. I could make out a faint breathing sound, signaling that Mark was still asleep.

'' _It's time for a wake-up call.''_

''Good morning Papa!'' I yelled as I jumped on Mark's sleeping form before grabbing onto him for a tight hug. Right after I grabbed on the blinds in the room opened as Agnes stood in the doorway, a frown on her face.

''I'm sorry Cathy.'' She said looking at the still unconscious Mark.

''W-what?! But… But he was supposed to…'' I quickly let go of Mark and sat up on the bed. ''No…'' I felt tears form in my eyes.

''Shhh…'' Agnes said, sitting down next to me on the bed and pulling me closer to her soothing form. ''He'll be alright. I promise.'' She whispered cradling me slowly.

I tried to talk but all I could do was softly whine through the hiccupping as I let the tears in my eyes stream down my cheeks.

''I know Cathy… You want to see him healthy again…'' Agnes said, carefully trying to get me to stand. ''Come sweetie, this is no place for you right now.'' She said walking out of the room with me glued to her form.

Slowly but surely we made it to the kitchen where Agnes put me down in one of the chairs before turning to the food she had been cooking.

I rested my arms on the kitchen table before resting my head on them, staring out the window, watching a bird fly by. _''Is he really going to wake up? Did that Hex stuff do this to him?''_

''Here, breakfast... Although it's actually more like lunch at this time.'' Agnes said sitting down next to me with a plate filled with eggs and toast. ''C'mon Cathy you need to keep your strength up…'' She said rubbing my back while I cleaned my eyes from the dried up tears.

''Miss Agnes…'' I muttered. ''Please tell me why he hasn't woken up yet.''

''I… I can't.'' Agnes said looking away guiltily.

''I don't care if you made a mistake! Please just tell me! Tell me I didn't risk so much to get him here!''

''Cathy calm down.'' Ashe said, using my recently given name for the first time since I've gotten it. Her voice came from somewhere in the house, making both me and Agnes search for a source. ''I talked with Yi a while back, he said he might know why.'' We traced her voice back to the television on the wall in the living room.

''Thank you Ashe;'' Yi's voice came from the display on the fridge in the kitchen. ''Mark is fine, thanks to you two. He just completely ran out of energy, which he is regenerating right now.''

''I don't follow.'' Agnes said a bit confused.

''It's like this. In my universe, there are those who use mana to power their magical abilities and those who use energy to do the same. I believe that Mark is such a person but now that he's completely out of energy he rests to regain it.'' Yi explained.

''That kinda makes sense, but shouldn't he have recovered by now?'' I asked thinking about Yi's theory.

''Normally it would but I think yesterday was an exception. Mark used a lot of energy to force himself to stand up and be able to run let alone use the overdrive to make it in time. I think he also overdid it yesterday…'' Yi said a bit disappointed in Mark's choice. ''He just couldn't let anything happen to you.''

There was a moment of silence in the kitchen. I could feel a knot of guilt form inside my stomach and judging by the look on Agnes her face, she was feeling it too.

''So what do we do now?'' I asked, finally breaking the silence.

''The only thing we can do, wait for Mark to regain consciousness.'' Yi said calmly.

''And you need to eat something! Your body could use a pick me up after everything that has happened!'' Agnes said pushing the plate closer to me.

''Thank you, Miss Agnes, I really appreciate it.'' I said managing a small smile.

* * *

''Bahahaha! This is too good!'' A laugh echoed through the temporary hideout waking me up from my nap.

As the howling laugh continued to ring through the hideout I let out an annoyed sigh before getting up from the pile of old mattresses and jumped down, landing near the source of the now annoying laughter.

''Hmpf, what is?'' I asked with a scowl, moving a few white locks of hair out of my face.

''You missed the best part kitty.'' The old man with long white hair said pointing at a television screen. ''Yasuo rewind that for me.'' He ordered as the footage on the screen began to rewind.

''Don't call me that.'' I muttered, the comment going unnoticed by the older man.

On the screen was a news report of a fight going on between a large orange figure and another smaller orange figure. 'Yi gone rogue? More details tonight as we have a few official interviews.' The bar beneath the footage repeated as I watched the smaller figure get beaten down.

''Wait for it… Wait for it… BOOM, Whaha!'' The man began laughing even louder as I watched the figure get sent flying by a nasty blow from its larger foe.

''I don't see the humor in this.'' I noted, sitting down next to the old man. ''If anything you could be analyzing his fighting pattern for future reference.''

''Eh, you're no fun.'' He said with an annoyed hand gesture. ''This guy has been annoying me for a while now so it does me well to see him on the receiving end of bad news.''

''I've heard of your fights with him and his allies, but you never seemed to be giving it your all.'' I said getting up as the footage now showed little snow flower joining in on the fighting. _''I don't want to see that…''_

''Are you calling me dumb?'' The man said carefully eyeing me from the corner of his eye.

''Not dumb, but I just wonder why you keep underestimating your opponent.'' I said with a smirk and a shrug as I turned my back to him, ready to walk away.

This comment sends him over the edge as he got up way too quick for me to comprehend. Within the blink of an eye, he got up, grabbed the back of my head before forcing it to the ground.

''It seems to be you, who underestimates her opponents.'' He said glaring down at me. ''Or are you trying to act all tough, while deep down you turn your back to me because that little girl is getting beaten down.'' He said forcing me to look at the footage. ''Don't worry kitty. I always find a weakness, physically or emotionally.''

''B-but how..?'' I asked confused. ''You don't even-''

''That's enough you two.'' A hologram of Viktor projected itself inside the limited living space that we had to share for the time being. ''As much as I'd want to let this quarrel continue, we have more pressing matters.''

''About time you showed your face around here Viktor.'' The man said letting go of my head and walking towards the hologram. ''I've been out for a couple of days now but not allowed to get my revenge.''

''Everything in due time.'' Viktor said as the hologram paced through the hideout. ''For now, you'll have to await the preparations, but I assure you it won't take long.''

''It better not take long.'' I said getting up from the ground. ''From what I've seen those two have become pretty close… It won't take long before we won't be able to get her back.''

''Indeed it is becoming problematic.'' Viktor said, deep in thought. ''Perhaps it is better if you two go in for an elimination instead of a retrieval.''

''Anything to get on O'Neill's nerves.'' The man said with a sinister smile.

''No!'' I yelled through the room, getting everyone 's attention. ''I-I mean… I'll get her back, in the past she's always listened to me.'' I said trying to sound confident in my ability.

''Hmm, retrieving her isn't a priority. The main priority is taking out those with Overdrive, meaning O'Neill and that little test-tube project of yours Viktor.'' The man commented, making me frown at him.

''It would be a benefit for us if we kept the little one alive and on our side after all a young mind is so easily corrupted.'' Viktor said letting out a sinister laugh. ''All I want you two to do for now is to show the world that we are a threat if that means killing that Project pest so be it.''

''But why now of all times? They are divided! They think Yi has gone rogue! Why not let this conflict escalate?!'' I asked surprised, mostly to try and change the plan to retrieve my sister although I'm not sure how to accomplish it at the moment.

''It's like you said, my dear. The longer we wait, the closer they will grow, and you don't want that now do you?'' Viktor asked.

''Of course not master.'' I said with a swift bow.

''Good, once the Battlecasts are ready for the invasion I'll contact you once more. Await further orders for now.'' Viktor ordered before his hologram disappeared.

'' _Damn… This seems pretty bad for us little snow flower…''_

''More waiting… What a joy this is!'' The man said as he made his way over towards the door of the hideout.

''Where do you think you're going?'' I asked him as an orange flare of light nearly blinded me. ''Our orders were clear! Stay. Put.'' I snarled at the man now fused with Yasuo.

''He never said 'don't leave', he merely said 'wait'.'' The man said laughing. ''Also relax, I'm just going to stretch my legs a little, it's not like I have a sparring partner or anything.''

''Don't you think you're going to stand out just a little with the whole neon getup?'' I asked, getting annoyed with the conversation.

''Hmm, didn't think about that…'' He said playing dumb. ''Perhaps if you join me in some sparring I won't go too far.''

The mechanical ronin was already at the door, basically forcing me to do his bidding. _''Either that or he'll jeopardize the entire retrieval''_

''I guess I'll just walk out of here and-''

''Rah! Dammit!'' I yelled with an aggressive smirk after throwing a neon pink dagger aimed to impale the ronin's hand. ''You really manage to drive me to the point of insanity with your childish behavior!''

Yasuo barely managed to pull his hand away as the dagger stabbed straight through the metal of the door. He stood frozen for a second, letting my words sink in before beginning to chuckle and reach for the dagger.

''Good, that's exactly where I want you to be when I force you to spar, haha!'' The man fused with Yasuo said as he ripped the dagger out of the door and threw it back at me, forcing me to use Shunpo.

''You know that if we spar in here, you're putting yourself in a disadvantages position right?'' I asked with a smirk, readying my daggers.

''Let's just say that that I've been wanting to see more of your skills ever since we fought our way out of prison.'' He said, readying his blade. ''And let me just add that you've been doing a piss poor job at showing me your best.''

''YOU'RE ON!''

* * *

''Alright kid focus, you're not going to improve if you keep failing step one…'' Ashe said with a sigh.

''I'm trying my best! But we've been doing the same thing for three days now! Can't we do something else for once?'' I complained to Ashe. ''C'mon I know there's more to learn then just accurate shots.''

''No way, what's a powerful attack if you can't aim it properly?'' Ashe asked holding back a chuckle. ''Come on, back to practice.''

''*Sigh* Fine…'' I sighed and pulled back another arrow on the bow. ''The least you could have done was fuse with me to give me a little advantage.'' I muttered under my breath as I took aim at a holographic target floating in the air.

''I heard that.'' Ashe said annoyed.

''Good cause' I'm getting really **bored**!'' I argued, letting go of the arrow which hit the target perfectly in the center. ''There, another perfect shot, without your help, all me!''

''What do you mean 'another perfect shot', that's like number twenty today and don't make me bring up the amount of missed shots!'' Ashe growled back. ''You know what? Fine, let's see you fire another Crystal Arrow! I'd love to see you try!''

''Are you challenging me?! I can do it easily!'' I yelled back as we fused, Ashe her armor covered my body before the hood and visor appeared, giving me a more tactical view of the rooftop.

''Well? What are you waiting for?'' Ashe asked sarcastically. ''Unless… You don't know what you're supposed to do.'' She chuckled.

''Keep taunting me, you'll see.'' I whispered as I inspected my bow. _''Alright Cathy you got this… Just recall what you did last time… Argh! I can't remember! I… I have to clear my head. Yeah! That'll help!''_

I took a steady breath before straightening up a little. I looked from my bow to the skyline, taking everything in around me; the buildings around Agnes her home, the lights below in the streets flickering, the stars in the sky, the sounds of the city's nightlife.

I inhaled slowly as I pulled back an arrow on my bow until my lungs were filled with air and I could almost feel the cold radiating off the projectile near my face before aiming the bow forward.

''Well? Are you going to do anything with that arrow or what?'' I barely heard Ashe her comment as it was muffled somehow. It almost felt like I had completely blocked her out.

''' _Good job…''_ I heard Mark's voice from last time when I managed to save him with a Crystal Arrow. It was almost like I could feel him putting his hand on my head again. I felt a strange and warm feeling for a moment, not noticing the Crystal Arrow forming on my bow.

''Cathy! I got something for you!'' Agnes suddenly yelled from the entrance to the house, breaking my concentration. The sudden callout snapped me back to reality as I exhaled loudly, almost gasping for air because I held my breath in for too long. In the process I let the arrow go, sending it flying forward.

The unstable Crystal Arrow flew for a couple of meters before detonating in the air, creating a brilliant explosion of tiny ice crystals that slowly feathered down towards the streets below.

''It's a work in progress.'' Ashe said with a hint of surprise in her voice while we defused. ''You doing alright there kiddo?'' She asked while I was still catching my breath.

''Cathy! Are you out there?!'' Agnes called out again, this time with a little more urgency in her voice.

''C-coming!'' I yelled quickly making my way to the entrance of the home. ''Sorry I got carried away for a second.'' I said quickly taking off my shoes before running into the kitchen where Agnes was waiting with a pile of clothes.

''Finally.'' Agnes said with a sigh of relief and a smile. ''I was starting to think that you ran off or something.'' She laughed nervously for a moment before handing me the small pile of clothes.

''What is all this?'' I asked while taking a look through the clothes.

The pile consisted of a few different outfits. First I grabbed a white top with a pair of blue shorts and a military-style jacket, although the sleeves were a bit too big it did look really nice. Second, there was a dark blue top with a pair of regular pants and a black hoodie which was almost identical to the one that Mark had bought me. Last I grabbed a short black dress.

''I got you some more clothes so we don't have to dig around my closet for any clothes that might fit you!'' Agnes said with a warm smile.

''…'' I held back a few tears before something struck me. ''W-wait… I'm not going to wear something like this in public!'' I yelled as I pulled up the black dress.

''You don't have to Cathy! Heehee.'' Agnes giggled. ''That's a nightdress. You can wear it to bed so you don't have to sleep in your undies!'' She explained.

''T-thank you, Agnes!'' I said dropping the clothes and quickly hugging her. ''This is one of the nicest things someone has ever done for me!''

''There, there… No need to thank me, sweetie, you've been an amazing guest over the past few days.'' Agnes said returning the hug. ''It would probably kill Alisha if she was here right now but I bet she'd feel the same about you.'' Agnes said before breaking the hug and started to pick up the clothes I dropped.

''By the way where is Alisha? She randomly disappeared yesterday. I thought she was with you…'' I asked as Agnes handed me the stack clothes.

''She had to take care of her little brother and with you and Mark here right now, we don't have enough space for him so Alisha wend home after work with her brother.'' Agnes explained while opening the fridge to grab a bottle of red liquid.

''Ah, I see… Sorry…'' I looked down to the ground guiltily and apologized. ''I know how much you like having Alisha around.''

''Aw, Cathy!'' Agnes said as she hugged me again. ''You don't have to feel guilty about anything. Alisha and I have spent long periods of time apart.''

''Like in, apart because of work or something?'' I asked a bit confused.

''Yeah something like that.'' Agnes said, pouring herself a glass of the red liquid. ''Maybe it's time for you to try on that nightdress.''

''You don't mean…''

''Time for bed Cathy, it's getting late.'' Agnes said with a small smile. ''I know it's not fair but I'm expecting someone from work over to discuss some things and I don't want them finding out about you and Mark staying here.'' Agnes said before I could protest.

''I get it. It's alright in that case.'' I said, trying to hide my pout. ''The boredom of training for days has been starting to wear me out anyway.'' I said glaring at my 'phone' as Agnes called it.

''That's great Cathy.'' Agnes said zoning out for a moment. ''Oh before I forget! You can sleep in my bed tonight, I'm probably going to do some overtime in the lab later.'' She said pointing to her outdoor lab.

''Are you sure? I don't mind sharing the guest bed with papa, it's easily big enough for two people.'' I said making my way to the bathroom to change into the nightdress.

''No! I-I mean eh… I'm going to do some tests on Mark as well. I think I might have found something to wake him up!'' Agnes quickly said as I stood in the hallway, now dressed in my new nightdress. ''So you just sleep in my bed so I don't wake you up!''

''Oh! Why didn't you say so before!'' I said excitedly. ''I'll make sure to stay out of your way so you don't have to worry about me!'' Agnes let out a sigh of relief, confusing me a bit as I made my way to her bedroom.

I opened the door to Agnes her bedroom and was met with a large king sized bed next to a window. I scanned the room before crawling into the bed, spotting another television on the wall and a large closet decorated with a mirror.

I carefully sat down on the bed, noticing it bounced a bit when I sat down on it, this bringing a smile to my face and giving me an idea.

I hopped off the bed and created as much distance between the bed and myself before running towards the bed and hopping onto it. ''YAY!'' I giggled as I bounced into the air and landed back on the bed with even more giggles.

''Cathy! Bedtime!'' I hear Agnes say while she knocked on the door, sounding a bit annoyed.

''Sorry!'' I carefully whispered back before diving into the bed, trying to fall asleep as fast as I could.

* * *

'' _Where am I?''_ I wondered while looking around in the complete darkness. _''What is this place?''_

A figure brushed past me, nearly knocking me over but never looking back.

'' _Hey watch where you're going!''_ I yelled making the figure turn its face towards me. Seeing its face shocked me a little as it seemed to be Mark's face. _''Papa?!''_ I asked as the figure turned its face away and kept on walking. _''Papa wait up! Papa!''_

''Pa…pa..?'' I slowly opened my eyes and searched for Mark. ''A… dream?'' I asked confused as I slowly sat up in an unknown bed. ''Right Agnes her bed.'' I muttered before taking a look at the alarm clock on the nightstand.

'' _I only slept for two hours?! Really?''_ With an annoyed groan, I got out of bed, slowly making my way towards the door of the room and opened it, stopping as I heard voices talking. _''Right Agnes said she'd have someone over…''_

''Thank you for inviting me over Agnes.'' A feminine voice said. ''But I thought you needed some time to recover from that fight? Why invite me over now?''

''Oh believe me I'm still taking my time to recover.'' I heard Agnes say. ''But there's something I don't want to keep from you, thus why I invited you on such short notice.''

'' _Maybe I shouldn't be snooping around in Agnes her business…''_ I thought to myself a little sleepily. _''I'll just go lay down with papa, maybe that will help me fall asleep.''_ I told myself while carefully making my way to the other bedroom and climbing into the bed with Mark. _''Much better.''_ I thought while snuggling up to Mark.

Before I could drift off to sleep I heard the door to the room open and the voices of the two talking women returned.

''I promised I wouldn't keep secrets from you anymore so… Here.'' I heard Agnes say as the door fully opened and the lights turned on.

''You!''

* * *

 **Alrighty then, I'm back with a new chapter. And not like last time where I promise to add an author's note but just don't and actually thing ''fuck it no one cares''.**

 **So yeah I'm back and I'll actually try to keep a decent update schedule up this time! I promise I'll work on a chapter for my other story next thing tomorrow after work!**

 **I guess a little explanation is in order for my absence. Well a lot of things happened, some personal things (both good and bad I suppose). Let's just say that I don't have as much free time anymore since I graduated and am now a full time nurse and work two jobs… It's tiring…**

 **Good news is that I'll be going back to school in September to follow up on my nursing diploma and go even further! So that also means that I'll have a bit more time to write and to brainstorm chapters. :DD**

 **As for bad things, let's not get into the depressing matters, no one's waiting on it.**

 **I'm so glad people still stick around for the story, hell someone even asked me to write this chapter because he missed the story. I guess that got me writing again. YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE YOU SG LOVING BASTARD**

 **Anyway I love all ya'll reading this and sticking with the story, I know it isn't the best but I appreciate every single one of you still reading this!**

 **Until next time,**

 **Emerald out.**


	33. Chapter 33

PROJECT: Earth

Chapter 33: Risks rewarded(?)

* * *

''You!'' Both I and the young girl yelled as Agnes and I walked into the guest bedroom where Mark lay resting.

''What's going on Agnes? What are they doing here?!'' I asked the doctor, staring at the girl in the bed next to Mark.

''Cathy! What did I tell you about being here?'' Agnes asked turning her attention to the girl, annoying me a little. ''I told you to stay in the other bedroom!''

''Hey! I asked you something!'' I yelled slightly panicked and confused. ''What's going on here? Why are they at your house?!''

''Nathalie calm down, I-I was-'' Agnes was interrupted by the small girl who shot out of the bed in the blink of an eye and made a mad dash for the doorway that we were blocking.

''Not so fast!'' I yelled at her attempting to catch her by her arm.

In return, the small girl dived straight towards me and Agnes making me think I had to catch her. Within a second of her diving forward she feinted her movement and rolled pass us into the hallway.

''You two have to do better than that if you want to catch me!'' She yelled running towards the kitchen table and jumping onto it. ''I-I thought I could trust you Agnes!'' She yelled with puffy eyes.

''Cathy please, it's not what you think!'' Agnes said, trying to calm the young girl down. ''I'm trying to help-''

''Helping me? In what way? By getting me locked up again?!'' She yelled angrily, wiping away the tears forming in her eyes. ''I trusted you!'' She said grabbing something from the kitchen table.

''Cath-'' Agnes was cut off by a bright blue light as the girl fused with Ashe, already drawing back a hand full of arrows on her bow, powering them up further with her overdrive summoned.

''AGNES MOVE!'' I screamed diving towards the doctor, barely managing to grab her in time as a volley of arrows flew through the apartment.

''Dammit this is taking a turn for the literal worst…'' Agnes muttered as we took cover from the angry girl's attacks.

''You two want to lock me and Mark up?! I'm not going back into a cage!'' The girl yelled through the apartment.

''Is she often like this?'' I asked taking a quick peek, losing a few strands of hair due to an arrow shooting pass me. ''You know with the whole temper tantrum?''

''N-No… This isn't like her at all… She's likely just scared and angry…'' Agnes explained her face filled with fear. ''We need to calm her down, she probably won't listen to a thing I'm trying to explain to her…''

''If you say so.'' Leona said reading my mind and fusing with me, readying the shield. ''Let's see how she likes a bash of this baby.''

''NO!'' Agnes instantly stopped us. ''That'll only make things worse!''

''Well then what's the plan?'' Both Leona and I asked, deactivating the shield making it turn into its smaller form ''You seem to have built quite the bond with her, how are we going to calm her down?'' I asked.

''I'M NOT GOING BACK IN A CAGE!'' The girl yelled jumping off the kitchen table and making a run toward the front door.

''Front door lock!'' Agnes ordered as a loud ***Click*** was heard from the door to which the girl was trying to escape. ''That'll keep her in here.'' She let out a relieved sigh.

''RAAAAAAH'' The girl screamed like a feral animal, her hands glowing an even brighter blue magic as she turned around and charging us again. ''I'M NOT GOING BACK!'' She yelled drawing her weapon again.

''Not good! Not good!'' Leona yelled as I activated my shield again and covered Agnes and myself with it, blocking an enhanced flurry of arrows freezing part of my shield as the girl ran pass us towards the glass doors leading to the roof of the building.

The girl didn't show any signs of stopping and plowed straight through the glass doors, covering her face with her arm at the last second as she jumped.

After a second of waiting I lowered my shield, so we could see whether the girl's escape plan worked or not. To our surprise, the girl lay motionless outside, shattered glass all around her.

''Oh god, CATHY!'' Agnes yelled making her way towards the girl as fast as she could. ''Cathy please stop this! T-This isn't you!'' She said with tears in her eyes as the girl slowly started to move again, her hands still shining a bright blue light.

''Stay… away…'' The girl managed while slowly getting back up, the adrenaline flowing through her fueling her and her overdrive as she made her way further onto the roof.

''Nathalie I don't like this! She needs help!'' Agnes yelled in panic as tried to follow the girl outside without thinking.

''Agnes wait!'' I said, grabbing her hand. '''Let me go first.'' I said readying my shield. ''Just in case.'' I gave her a serious look which she met with a nod.

We carefully walked through the broken doors, noticing a bit of blood on the ground among the glass shards. I could hear Agnes gasp as she inspected the small bloodstains. ''We should keep a lookout for more blood…''

''Agreed.'' I nodded as we slowly advanced onto the roof, walking pass the glasshouse and the makeshift laboratory, following the occasional drops of blood left behind by the girl.

I could feel my heart beat in my chest, not knowing where the girl was hiding or if she was even trying to hide from us. _''This is not how I pictured my first meeting with her…''_

''There!'' Agnes said pointing to the edge of the roof where a small blue figure sat hunched over against the edge, clearly out of energy and one arm bleeding. ''C-Cathy..?''

''I… I won't hesitate…'' Cathy muttered, weakly trying to hold her bow up.

''Agnes.'' I whispered getting her attention. ''I'm going to lower my shield to talk to her, but I need you to trust me.'' I explained calmly.

''Don't hurt her, promise me you won't hurt her.'' Agnes said giving me a serious look.

''I'm not going to hurt her, I promise.'' I said, getting a nod from the doctor. ''I want to talk…'' I yelled at the girl sitting at the edge of the roof. ''I'm going to lower my shield, give it to Agnes and I trust you won't shoot.''

After a moment of not getting a response, I deactivated my shield, shrinking it down to a more compact size and detaching it from my armor before handing it to Agnes.

''Get to cover Agnes.'' I ordered the doctor who complied and slowly backed down. ''See? I'm not lying to you.'' I said raising my hands.

''Drop your blade, I know what you can do with it.'' Cathy said sounding a bit scared but mostly confused at my actions.

''Alright.'' I said, taking out my sword and throwing it aside. ''There, that's out of the way.'' I decided to take a small step forward which earned me an arrow in my shoulder armor. _''Alright stay calm, stay calm, keep cool… explain everything you do Nath…''_

''T-That was a warning… The next one will hurt a lot more.'' Cathy warned, slowly pulling back a new arrow with her hurt arm.

''Got it.'' I said through gritted teeth as I managed to pull out the arrow, leaving a small cut in my armor and my shoulder. ''Let's just try and get on common ground, I think you should listen to what Agnes is trying to tell you.'' I said calmly, ignoring the pain in my arm.

''Last time we met I tried to talk you down from a fight… Now it's the other way around, heh.'' Cathy laughed at the irony of the situation.

''I know… It's all my fault.'' I said crouching down to Cathy's level, her eyes blocked by her visor but there was a clear look of hesitation on her face. ''If I'd just listened to you and Mark back then… You two wouldn't have been hurt…''

I could see Cathy her face shift a bit at the words I told like she was beginning to listen to my words.

''More importantly, you wouldn't be afraid of me.'' I said with a lump in my throat. ''My own daughter thinks I'm a monster who wants to hurt her…'' I noticed a tear running down my face, forcing me to take off my headgear to wipe away the tear.

''…'' Cathy watched in silence, the grip on her bow faltering slowly. ''No! You're lying! You'll betray me the first chance you get! Just like Agnes!'' She yelled out in a panic.

''She didn't betray you!'' I yelled back, tears slowly escaping me. ''Agnes isn't at fault! I am! She only wants to help! P-please! I-I''

''How is this helping?!'' Cathy said angrily. ''Why else would you be here?! Besides for capturing me and Mark? ANSWER ME!''

''I-I''

''I wanted her to see Mark! Cathy, please listen to me! She loves him!'' Agnes told the scared girl, popping out of her cover with the shield raised. ''I didn't tell her about you! She didn't even know about Mark!''

''Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! You're lying! You're both lying!'' Cathy yelled, accidently letting the arrow sending it flying towards Agnes.

'' _Shit!''_

In an instant I stepped in front of the arrow, blocking it. The arrow embedding itself into the armor's stomach, thankfully not penetrating it but the force still knocking me back a little.

''Nathalie!'' Agnes yelled in panic, making her way towards me and throwing the shield aside.

''I'm fine, please, make sure you don't get hurt.'' I said looking towards the girl who surprisingly had thrown aside her weapon and crawled forward a few inches, her mouth agape at a loss of words.

''I-I-I… Didn't mean to shoot… I just…'' She muttered in shock, realizing that she almost shot the woman that had taken care of her for the past days. ''Y-You w-weren't lying…'' She said beginning to realize the truth.

''Of course, we weren't lying…'' I said with a chuckle, slowly making my way over to the girl frozen in fear of her own actions.

''She wanted to…'' Cathy muttered, her hood and visor disappearing from her face, showing a scared child underneath. ''M-Mama…'' She said, beginning to sniffle.

''It's alright Cathy.'' I said dropping to my knees close to the quivering girl who hugged me tightly and began to cry. ''It's alright now Cathy, I won't let anyone hurt you.'' I said defusing with Leona, her armor leaving my body as I held the crying girl a few tears of my own escaping as well.

* * *

I groaned reaching for my face before rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

''Where am I?'' I wondered aloud blinking a few times.

I was in a large bed at least the size of the bed Nathalie and I shared back at home. What did stand out was the way the bed was made, half of the sheets looked like they were thrown off in a hurry. _''Strange''_

I threw off the remaining sheets revealing different cloths then the ones I wore during the fight with Mecha Zero Sion. _''Alright then… more strange things.''_

''Easy now.'' I told myself as I sat up in the bed, already feeling my numb legs. ''Only numb… That's a good sign.'' I muttered getting ready to sit on the edge of the bed.

With a swift movement, I threw my legs out the bed, feeling a bit of pain pulse through my legs as I bend my knees. ''This is going better than I expected.'' I chuckled.

''Alright now let's see.'' I said looking for a way out of the room. The room was mostly empty besides a desk in the corner of the room with a laptop and some papers on it.

Exiting the room wouldn't be a problem since the door to the room was left open, surprising me a bit. _''Well wherever I am, it doesn't look like I'm locked up.''_

I exhaled deeply, readying myself to test the strength of my legs. ''Here goes nothing.'' I muttered getting up from the bed, having to put in a little extra effort because the bed was a bit low to the ground.

''Not bad-'' I cut myself off as I started to feel dizzy, stumbling around like a drunk through the room, finding support against the doorpost. ''Alright… Not quite up to speed just yet.'' I chuckled as the feeling began to subside.

'' _Let's just stay close to the walls, in case I need more support.''_ I told myself as I took a look around the apartment I was in.

To my surprise there wasn't anyone around, making me wonder whose house I ended up in. Before it crossed my mind to call out to anyone I noticed something blue embedded inside the wall next to the doorway I was standing in.

''Is that… Oh no.'' I said realizing it was one of Ashe's arrows. ''Cathy what did you do?''

I looked pass the doorway, noticing multiple arrows embedded inside the wall and the floor. _''This is bad…''_

I carefully made my way out of the bedroom and into the hallway, holding onto the walls for support.

''Mark?'' A familiar voice asked, bringing a smile to my face. ''You didn't choose the best time to wake up.''

''Hey Yi, what's going on here?'' I asked following the sound of the voice into the kitchen where an orange light shone on the kitchen table.

''Well… I missed some of the commotion but, I think Cathy went berserk.'' Yi explained the best he could. ''She thought Nathalie was here to capture you two.''

''Nathalie is here?'' I asked at the mentioning of her name. ''Wait! Cathy went berserk?!''

''She's scared Mark, not to mention that she's fairly young and not experienced in these situations.'' Yi said, trying to make sense of everything he witnessed. ''Her instincts probably kicked in which would either be-''

''Fight or flight.'' I muttered grabbing the phone on the kitchen table. ''New phone?'' I asked making Yi chuckle.

''Agnes made sure to replace the old one after she got her first look at it.'' Yi said sounding happy about the reunion.

''So I'm at Agnes' place.'' I said slowly starting to follow the trail of arrows left behind in the hallway, leading to two broken glass doors, shattered glass all over the floor outside. ''You up for some investigating, Yi?''

''Maybe we shouldn't, at least not in your condition.'' Yi said with a hint of worry in his voice.

''What are you talking about? I feel fine.'' I lied, walking through the broken doors, careful not to step in any broken glass.

''You should give your body time to rest, Agnes and Cathy worked really hard to fix you up.'' Yi argued before both of us shared a chuckle. ''Seems like you're already back to old habits.''

''Seems like it.'' I said, noticing some muffled talking in the distance. ''Sounds like everyone's up here somewhere.''

I managed to walk a few meters without support before bumping into the glasshouse for support, slightly out of breath. In the distance I could see someone leaning against the other building on the roof, watching something.

Following the gaze of the figure towards the edge of the roof, I saw two familiar faces talking to each other. Seeing the situation under control I let out a sigh of relief and leaned against the glasshouse, watching the scene play out.

I watched as Nathalie carefully made Cathy look at her and tell her something making the young girl crack a small smile before her eyes shot pass her mother, staring at me in disbelief.

''Papa? PAPA'S UP!'' She yelled getting up from the ground and running over to me.

''Cathy sweetie slow down!'' I yelled as Cathy already collided with me sending the both of us to the ground.

''Mark!'' Nathalie and Agnes called out, a mix of worry and happiness clearly noticeable.

Cathy and I started laughing for a moment, still on the ground as Agnes made her way over to us. ''I was so worried about you! I thought you weren't going to wake up again!'' Cathy began to explain, holding me in a tight hug.

''Mark you shouldn't be out here!'' Agnes said crossing her arms. ''You should be resting, I can't have you fainting again!''

''I'll try my best to take it easy for now doc, but I think I've done enough sleeping for now.'' I chuckled.

Cathy got off me and sat next to me on her knees after the quick hug, looking over to the spot she and Nathalie sat a moment ago.

Nathalie slowly rose up from the ground, not taking her eyes off me and Cathy. Her eyes moving between the two of us, almost like she was comparing the two of us.

''I hope I wasn't interrupting any important mother daughter talk, but I've been watching for a while and this rooftop is getting a bit too chilly for me in the middle of the night.'' I said, getting helped back up from the ground by Agnes and Cathy.

Nathalie managed a small smile for a second before her face returned to its passive state as she made her way over to me until there was barely any space left between us.

She slowly raised her hand and carefully cherished my cheek, almost as if she wanted to make sure she wasn't imagining it all.

''I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Cathy sooner…'' I managed to get out, Nathalie still carefully eyeing me. ''It's just that… You were still recovering from your injury when we found out and-''

''Just shut up.'' She interrupted, carefully pressing her head against mine. ''About an hour ago, I would have never thought I would ever see you alive and well, and now here you are... Can't we just save the explaining for later and just enjoy this moment?''

''I'd love nothing more.'' I whispered, carefully planting a kiss on her lips.

''Bleeegh, get a room you two.'' Cathy said at the sight of her parents kissing, making us awkwardly break up the kiss and look at the young girl watching us from the sideline.

''Excuse me? Where did you learn something like that?'' I asked sarcastically, making Nathalie chuckle at my attempt at serious parenting.

''That one's on me, hehe…'' Agnes said, rubbing her neck awkwardly. ''What? I watch sappy romance movies sometimes! Not my fault Cathy happened to watch one with me yesterday!'' Agnes defended, earning her some laughter from us.

''Alright I think we should really head inside and get her fixed up.'' Nathalie said pointing at Cathy's bleeding arm.

''I-It's nothing, j-just a flesh wound.'' Cathy said inspecting the cuts with a pale face. ''I don't think i-it needs stitching.''

''Are you feeling alright Cathy? You're looking a bit pale.'' Agnes said taking a good look at the girl's arm.

''Don't tell me you're afraid of a little blood.'' I said, giving her a playful shove.

''I-I don't have a problem with blood, just when it's my blood… and this much… You know?'' Cathy half asked with a nervous chuckle.

''Alright let's get you inside and clean up, my broken doors aren't going to cover themselves either…'' Agnes said, offering Cathy a bit of support as she slowly made her way to her home.

''Sorry about that…'' Cathy muttered, accepting the offer from the doctor.

Nathalie and I watched the two slowly walk up the stairs towards the broken doors before Nathalie began to follow them.

''Uhm, hey Nath…'' I asked making her look at me. ''A little help, please? Walking on my own's a bit hard.''

She chuckled at my words and quickly walked back to me, grabbing one of my arms and throwing it over her shoulder, letting me lean on her. ''C'mon let's get you back inside.'' She said almost carrying me on her shoulder.

''Have you been working out?'' I asked jokingly trying to forget the fact that I could barely walk on my own.

''More like you're getting lighter.'' Nathalie said with a huff as she helped me get up the stairs. ''Seriously you have to stop sleeping so much.''

''Coming from you, it has to be a serious problem.'' I laughed.

''Hey! What's that supposed to mean?'' Nathalie pretended to sound hurt.

''Sweetie we both know who sleeps the most in this relationship.'' I said, earning a chuckle from Nathalie as we walked into the apartment.

''There you two are, what took you so long?'' Agnes asked looking up from Cathy's bandaged arm.

The two were sitting at the kitchen table, Agnes busy with bandaging up Cathy's arm and Cathy trying to sneak a glance at the doctor who was busy bandaging up the cuts on her arm.

''Mark isn't able to walk on his own.'' Yi said, his orange light appearing on the television.

''I guessed as much…'' Agnes said with a scowl. ''The Hex might have taken effect, but that doesn't mean you can just get up and do whatever.''

''Yeah, yeah, I know I need to rest.'' I said brushing off the worry from the doctor. ''So where do you want me Agnes?''

''How about you rest up and I'll try to come up with a plan on what we're supposed to do next?'' Agnes suggested with a small smile. ''Well, after I'm done with this little rascal.''

''…'' Cathy looked up at the older woman. ''I'm sorry…'' She muttered again.

''We'll settle on a punishment later, someday, when this all blows over… *Sigh* Eventually…'' I said with another sigh. ''Let's just make sure we settle on a plan.''

''Leave it to us.'' Nathalie said, nudging me as she began making her way towards the guest bedroom. ''C'mon, I'll help you.''

''Don't worry Mark, we'll make sure to inform you once we settle on something.'' Leona said, her voice coming from Nathalie's pocketed phone.

''And once you're able to operate in the field again.'' Ashe butted in before Leona could finish her sentence.

''No one asked you for your opinion Ashe.'' Cathy said looking at her phone on the kitchen table, starting an argument with her partner as Nathalie and I slowly made our way into the bedroom.

* * *

''There, back where you should have stayed from the beginning anyway.'' I said, looking at Mark laying in the bed.

'Oh, don't act like you weren't happy to see me back there.'' He said with a grin, making my own smile fade slowly. ''Nath? What's wrong?''

''I know this isn't the best time to ask but; how long did you know about Cathy?'' I asked, getting serious with Mark. ''I'm not mad or disappointed, just curious.''

''Nath, I want you to understand that I was trying to keep you from worrying.'' He started, taking a moment to think about the right words. ''I… eh, I'm not sure…''

''What are you talking about?''

''Well, from the moment we fought her back in Germany I had a bad feeling about her using the overdrive, although it was confirmed later by Agnes.'' Mark confessed. ''Nathalie please don't get mad, you were in such a bad shape after what happened in Germany…''

''I know, and as I said before, I'm not mad.'' I huffed, covering Mark with the covers of the bed. ''I'm actually relieved that you're being honest with me.''

''And that I'm doing alright?'' He asked getting comfortable in the bed.

''And that too of course.'' I managed to get out in between giggles.

''So, what are we going to do about Cathy once we've sorted everything out?'' Mark asked with a yawn. ''We are going to keep her right?''

''You can't just talk about her like she's a stray dog or something! She's a child! You know how much responsibility that is?!'' I asked lightly freaking out.

''Nath… Nathalie… HEY! Listen to me!'' Mark said, taking one of my hands into his own. ''Listen; We are her parents and she needs us, please... Nath, don't turn your back on her, we're all she has.''

''Don't you think I know that? Don't you think I already thought about that?!'' I nearly yelled at Mark who seemed unphased.

''She's got nowhere else to go, we can't leave her here with Agnes… That would be asking for too much from her.'' He quickly replied before letting out another yawn.

''Mark… We've been living together for almost half a year now and in the beginning, we barely managed to take care of ourselves.'' I said, feeling his fingers slowly cherish my hand.

''But we managed.'' He said chuckling lightly, closing his eyes.

''There's just so much we must take into consideration! What about her education? What if she gets sick? Or worse; gets injured!'' I reasoned, looking down at his hand. ''Who's going to stay with her? Our job doesn't allow us to-''

''Nathalie… Could you please just give it a thought?'' Mark interrupted, his speech getting slower. ''If not for her… please do it… for… me…zzzzzzz.''

''Mark, I don't think I can- Mark?'' I asked looking up from my hand in his hand to see him fast asleep. ''Seriously!?''

''Shhhh, don't forget how cranky he gets when he wakes up in the morning!'' Leona whispered, earning a snort from me.

''Give it some time he says as he falls asleep on me…'' I got up from the bed and made my way to the door, but before grabbing the handle something made me turn back to him.

''You know he's right about Cathy, Nath'' Leona's voice rang through my head. ''Mark isn't the only thing she needs in her life, she needs you too.''

''I know you and Mark are right Leo… I just need to process everything, so we can formulate a plan.'' I whispered with a worried sigh.

''It's not too late to show her you care, trust me.''

''We'll sleep on it, for now, I still got a lot to do at the headquarters tomorrow…'' I said quickly making my way back to Mark's sleeping form one last time. ''Good night you crazy goofball'' I whispered in his ear before planting a kiss on his forehead.

After the quick kiss, I felt satisfied and left the room, walking back into the apartment and scanning it for Agnes and Cathy who were both staring at me from the seats in the living room.

''Well, how is he doing?'' Agnes asked breaking the silence as I made my way down the small flight of stairs separating the living room from the rest of the apartment.

''Yeah, he's totally himself.'' I said looking at the doctor.

''In Mark's case that could mean a million things Nathalie, how is his health?'' Agnes asked, sounding a bit worried.

''He fell asleep during our conversation, didn't mention any pain or anything like that if that's what you mean.'' I said earning a sigh of relief from both Agnes and Cathy. Cathy's sigh surprising me a little.

''What took you two so long? More kissing?'' Cathy suddenly asked with a disgusted look on her face.

''Cathy!'' Agnes laughed while trying to sound serious.

''What? You told me to ask!'' The younger girl shot back.

''I certainly did not!''

''You totally did! You said it would be funny!''

''Nuhuh!''

''Yeahuh!''

The two continued to shoot the same argument back and forth for a moment, making me crack a smile just watching the two go at it.

''Guys…'' I tried to get a word in between the arguments, without success. ''GUYS! Please!'' I yelled getting the attention on me. ''Mark and I talked about some serious stuff and I think I need to sleep on it for now… So, I'll be heading home.''

''Oh, eh… Need a ride home? Cathy was about to go to bed anyway.'' Agnes said with her signature smile, her comment about the young girl getting her attention.

''But I'm not even tired!''

''Yes, you are you little liar.'' Ashe butted in, her voice coming from the phone on the kitchen table. ''I can sense the fatigue in your body, so unless you want to collapse tomorrow morning I suggest you head to bed.''

The comment making Agnes laugh and Cathy pout.

''Nice of you to offer me a ride home Agnes, but I have my own ride with me.'' I said, grabbing the motorcycle helmet near the door of the apartment.

''Alrighty, have a safe trip home Nath.'' Agnes said as I opened the apartment door, ready to leave.

''Wait! Natha- I-I mean mama…'' Cathy suddenly yelled, running over to me in her black nightwear and wrapping her arms around my form. The sudden action making me drop my helmet and freeze in place.

''I'm sorry for hurting you…'' She muttered.

''It's alright Cathy-''

''NO IT ISN'T! A-And you're not a monster! At least, I don't think you are one! So please, don't call yourself a monster again!'' The small girl yelled at me as she began to tremble, tears forming in her eyes as she looked up at me.

''Cathy…'' I whispered. ''Hearing you say that means a lot to me'' I told her, breaking up the hug and kneeling to her eye level watching her wipe away the tears in her eyes.

''I-I was really scared that you were going to put me in a cage…'' The girl said looking at her own feet, avoiding my saddened eyes. ''You see when I was made… Viktor kept me in a cage… before I met her…''

''It's alright Cathy, you're very brave for telling me this.'' I said, helping her clean her eyes by catching one of the escaping tears with my finger.

''Thank you, mama… I wish you could stay…'' Cathy said, her eyes still a bit puffy. ''But I understand… So… good night, mama.'' She said awkwardly rubbing her bandaged arm.

''I'll try to visit again soon.'' I said, ruffling the girl's short black hair with a spark of overwhelming joy inside my chest as she quickly showed a hopeful smile. ''Good night for now jellybean.''

I rose to my feet again, putting the helmet underneath my arm and leaving the apartment, closing the door behind me before quickly putting my ear against the door.

''Did you hear that Agnes?''

''Mhm, how about you brush your teeth and head to bed?''

''One more thing before I go;''

''Sure.''

''What's a jellybean?''

The question making me chuckle as I walked towards the elevator, the feeling of relief and joy making my heart pound in my chest.

'' _Maybe taking her in won't be so bad after all.''_

* * *

''Perfect Cathy, keep this accuracy up.'' I complimented as I watched the young girl practice with her weapon, firing arrows at targets projected by Ashe.

It has been three days since I woke up from my 'recovery nap' as Agnes likes to call it. The first I spend doing exercises for Agnes to show her I recovered enough, the second and third I used to keep my promise to Cathy by helping her learn to control her powers.

''She's talented with Ashe's bow but she becomes less accurate when not using her armor.'' Yi commented as I watched Cathy miss another shot.

''It's nothing.'' I said, watching her recover from her mistake by firing two arrows at once, hitting the target she missed before and another that just appeared. ''What she lacks in accuracy, she makes up for in reflexes.''

''Shut up that was a good run!'' Cathy suddenly yelled. ''Just give me your armor so it's easier to carry this heavy piece of equipment!''

''Mark and I agreed that you should be able to use the bow with and without armor!'' Ashe argued back beginning yet another fight between the two partners.

''Cathy! Ashe! Quit it! Both of you!'' I yelled with an annoyed huff.

''She started it!'' Cathy quickly yelled, throwing away the bow, making it disappear in a blue light. ''She's always telling me how I must be better!''

''Well if you would just apply the lessons I keep trying to teach you, you'd be learning new things!''

''Alright, alright! Shut it!'' I loudly ordered, silencing both the young girl and the archer. ''You two need to learn to work together. It's not only about teachings;''

''There is also the bond between partners, the weaker the bond the harder it is to control your powers.'' Yi finished the sentence. ''It will take time and effort, but it will pay off.''

''That's what I keep trying to tell Ashe, but she's just so… icy.'' Cathy said with an annoyed huff, her comment made me crack and chuckle.

''Mark… We're trying to teach them something here?'' Yi muttered a bit annoyed.

''Right, right.'' I said raising my hands to signal him I was sorry. ''You got to admit that was a good one though.''

''Indeed.''

While sharing a laugh with Yi, I noticed my phone vibrate, making me look down at the device.

 _Message received from: Nath_

'' _I've been thinking about Cathy and I want to talk about it without you falling asleep mid conversation, think you can handle it? ;p''_

''Seems like someone finally gave it some more thought.'' I muttered, not realizing Cathy was now standing next to me, reading the text conversation as it was going on.

'' _Hey! I apologized like 5 times now, stop reminding me.''_

'' _Good to know you're still sorry about that~ Anyway back on track, you up for a talk rn?''_

'' _It's only ten thirty, my bedtime isn't until midnight.''_

'' _I'm serious you goofball!''_

'' _Alright, where you wanna meet? Not the apartment I'm guessing.''_

'' _Good idea, I think Pete suspects me of hiding something from him, I'm slowly becoming more and more paranoid…''_

'' _Don't worry about him, let's just meet somewhere.''_

A minute went by without a response from Nathalie, making me look up from my phone and noticing Cathy was standing right next to me.

''Whatcha doing?'' She asked with a sly grin.

''Did I never teach you it's rude to read other people's texts?'' I asked, moving my phone away from underneath Cathy's nose.

''Nope, so where are we meeting mama?'' She asked trying to get another glance at my phone.

''We?'' I asked Cathy, giving her a questioning look. ''No, no, no sweetie. I'm meeting Nathalie, you're heading to bed soon.''

''Wha!? But I want to see mama too!'' Cathy argued, stomping her feet.

''Another time, kiddo, this is about-''

''Me! You know I can read right?'' Cathy said with an annoyed look. ''Please, I can be serious too you know?''

''Right… But this is business between me and your mother and judging by the last talk Nath and I had about you I wonder what she decided.'' I said patting her head. ''Now how does bed sound?''

''Agnes lets me stay up until eleven.''

''Well I'm not Agnes, now am I? And she's not here either so you just get ready for bed, I'll tuck you in, in a moment.'' I said waving her off, only receiving a stuck-out tongue from Cathy.

After the young girl left I got a moment to let out a huff and look at my phone again, noticing two new messages.

 _Messages received from: Nath_

'' _What about here? In like 10 minutes?''_ There was an added location with the text, looking like a hotel.

'' _Hello? Anyone there? DON'T YOU DARE IGNORE ME MARKUS O'NEILL I SWEAR TO GOD''_

'' _Was busy with Cathy, she wanted to come with me''_

'' _Tell her she can't come''_

'' _Already did and can we make it 15 minutes?''_

'' _Why?''_

'' _Putting Cathy to bed''_

'' _Aw~ Give her a hug from me and tell her I tried to visit but couldn't''_

'' _No problem. See you in a sec''_

'' _Just one more thing before you go…''_

* * *

''Cathy, where are you?'' Mark yelled through the house in search of me.

'' _He'll never suspect me to be underneath the table, hehe''_ I thought to myself, making me grin widely as I saw a pair of feet stop at the kitchen table.

''Cathy? C'mon this isn't funny, Nathalie is waiting on me!'' He yelled, putting something on the table, his phone by the sound of it. ''Front door's open? Ah crap…''

I watched as the pair of feet quickly made their way to the door. _''Now Ashe! Make the elevator go down!''_

'' _Why again?''_ She asked mentally, nearly ruining the plan. _What do I have to gain from it?''_

'' _I just want a look at papa's phone to figure out where mama is, so I can go see her!''_ I mentally snarled, almost knowing for certain that Mark's phone was on the table.

'' _Fiiiine''_ Ashe sighed as I heard Mark yell some inaudible curses and a stairway door close behind him.

''Seems like the coast is clear…'' I whispered to myself, getting up from my hiding spot.

''Cathy what are you doing?'' Yi asked his orange light still on the phone on the kitchen table. ''Mark's really worried about you.''

''Dang! I forgot about you, Yi!'' I yelled at the orange light, making me panic a little. ''Pleasepleasepleasepleasedon'tcallMarkover!''

''He's really worried about you…'' Yi said sounding a bit disappointed. ''Now what are you trying to do?''

''I'm just trying to figure out where mama is… Please, Yi!'' I begged, making the blade master sigh.

''I'll leave the phone and tell Mark you're in bed.'' He said, but before I could even protest he continued. ''That gives you about two minutes to have a look on the phone.''

''Oh my gosh, Yi thank you! I'd hug you if you had a body!'' I thanked him, making him chuckle.

''And Cathy?''

''Yeah?''

''Please don't go after us, you already remind me too much of Mark.'' With the comment the orange light left the phone, making me realize I had limited time.

'' _Alright, eh… where did he have those conversations?''_ I thought, desperately searching through the phone for the messaging app.

''The little green icon, doofus.'' Ashe said, her voice coming from my own phone.

''Hmm, the only time I don't mind you insulting me.'' I said going through the conversations, a lot of them muted. ''Let's see: Messages sent: Not so Swedish doctor, Mom, Gremlin, Damian, Boss woman, Boss man, Dad, Rox. What the heck none of these are to mama!''

''You've scrolled pass her! You're scrolling the wrong way! You need to scroll up towards more recent conversations! Some of these were sent over three months ago!'' Ashe said, getting dragged into my panic.

*Ping* _Multiple unread messages from: Nath_

''They hid the conversation…'' I muttered, looking at the new message. ''Should we really be doing this?''

''You went through all this trouble just to not read the messages? I thought you wanted to know where they were meeting!'' Ashe said sounding more and more annoyed. ''C'mon you're running out of time!''

''You're right!'' I said with a nod, getting another annoyed huff from the Frost Archer which was starting to turn into her usual response.

With a gulp I clicked the notification on the screen, quickly scrolling up to read part of the conversation I missed.

 _From: Nath_

'' _I've been giving it a lot of thought, but I don't think I'm ready to be a mother.''_

'' _I'm just too scared of the consequences. What if…''_

'' _Look, I want to keep seeing her, Mark. I really do but I can't… not with current events.''_

'' _What I'm trying to say is… well… I don't want her around.''_

''She doesn't want me around…'' I whispered to myself looking down at the screen with quivering hands. ''I knew it was too good to be true… I-I guess I'll-''

''Hey now, don't start crying.'' Ashe said, a hint of compassion in her voice. ''If anything, we need to get going, Mark will be here at any moment.''

''What does it matter? In the end, she'll be the one convincing him to leave me behind… I might as well-''

''Cathy? You in here?'' Mark called out, opening the front door.

''Just go! Get to the bedroom! He can't figure out we've been snooping around!''

* * *

''Cathy?'' I yelled once more, having a look around the kitchen. ''Are you sure she's here Yi?

''Of course, I talked to her.'' Yi confirmed with me. ''She was in the bedroom, I don't know what gave you the idea that she ran of suddenly.''

''Hmm, Nathalie is still a bit unsure about adopting Cathy, but I won't give up on her.'' I said grabbing my phone from the table and looking at the new messages. ''She deserves to be happy.''

 _New messages from: Nathalie_

'' _God what am I saying? She's just a little girl, she needs a place to stay!''_

'' _Mark for the love of god, stop ignoring me and get over here so we can discuss this, I'm seriously doubting myself…''_

''Hmpf, there she goes again…''

''She's just unsure about such a big decision, and we can't blame her.'' Yi said calmly. ''I'm actually really impressed that you made up your mind so quickly.''

''What about Cathy? Family is everything to me, Yi, especially now that my dad is… Well, you get what I mean.'' I said taking a moment, letting a sigh escape me before walking over to the bedroom where Cathy supposedly stayed.

I carefully opened the door, taking a look into the dark room. With Agnes working another night shift her bed was claimed quickly by Cathy who seemed to love the large window next to the bed.

''Cathy? You in here?'' I whispered, making the covers of the bed shift a little.

''Hmm?'' A groggy voice asked.

''Thank god, I thought you took the elevator down…'' I said with a sigh of relief. ''Guess I shouldn't doubt you so much, you're a good kid.''

''A-Are you going to visit mama?'' Cathy asked, sounding a bit sad.

''Yeah, you just stay here, I'll give Agnes a call to inform her.'' I slowly made my way over to the large bed, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. ''You're not mad at me, are you?''

''No…'' Cathy answered halfheartedly. ''I just… wanted to see her too that's all…''

''Don't worry sweetie, I'll talk to Nath about it and I'll make sure you'll stay with us.'' I said, carefully stroking her hair.

''Promise?''

''Promise; Now you just get some sleep, I'll be back as soon as I can.'' I told her, getting back up from my seat and walking towards the bedroom door.

''I love you papa and… thanks for everything.'' Cathy said with a quivering voice.

''I love you too Cathy, good night.'' I said, slowly closing the door behind me.

* * *

''Feels good to wear the armor again.'' I said, stretching my legs as the doors to the apartment building opened for me.

''It's been a while since we last fused.'' Yi said cheerfully. ''I must say this is starting to feel familiar.''

''Good to know that it's not just me.'' I said with a chuckle as I activated Highlander and began to get up to speed.

''Make sure you don't go too fast, the sensors around the city will pick up on the energy generated.'' Yi warned as we zoomed through traffic.

''One of the cons of having a genius scientist friend on the team I suppose.'' I said with a sigh, noticing people on the sidewalks look at me like they saw a ghost. ''Uhm, Yi? Why are people staring at me?''

''...''

''Yi? What did I miss?'' I asked a bit worried.

''How do I say this without you getting angry.'' Yi said taking a moment to find the right words. ''Pete stepped out to the media and… shared some information about us.''

''WHAT?!''

''Now hold on, before you start running towards the headquarters; He didn't say anything about your identity, hold on I'll grab the footage, it's easier that way.'' Yi said, pulling up a video on my hud.

'' _So, Mr. Price was it? You said you were sent here by your officials to indulge us about what went down in the city yesterday afternoon?''_ The young talk show host said, offering Pete a hand and a seat on the opposing chair.

'' _Peterson Price, and yes, that would be correct.''_ Pete said taking a seat in the chair after shaking the man's hand.

'' _Alright then, let me get this straight, you've been working with Yi and his allies for a couple of months now under the jurisdiction of the government?''_

'' _Correct, we're not a private military corporation, nor are we vigilantes.''_ Pete explained before being cut off by the host.

'' _Okay then, now let me ask the question that's everyone's most interested in; What happened yesterday?''_

'' _How do I put it without giving away too much information…''_ Pete said thinking for a moment. _''I suppose I could say that we're dealing with a rogue agent.''_

'' _Rogue?! Yi went rogue?!''_ The host asked in disbelieve, the comment by Pete earning gasps and whispers from the crowd. _''I-Is he siding with Viktor?!''_

'' _Now, now that would be a bit of an exaggeration.''_ Pete quickly shot down the man's assumption. _''If that were the case, every available agent would have been on his tail by now. So no, at this moment we can only say he has gone rogue, whether or not he is a danger to others… I'm not authorized to say.''_

''I've seen enough'' I said with a bitter tone as I reached my destination.

I walked into a parking lot which was built inside of a 'U' shaped building complex. The building had two levels, all of them identical, cozy rooms for people visiting the city or in our case people who needed somewhere private.

''It's not as bad as you think Mark.'' Yi said calmly. '' There are still people out there that believe in you, trust me.''

''I know, it's just that the trust the city has in me and everyone has been smudged by my decisions…'' I muttered, looking at my armored hand, balling a fist.

''Pssst! Mark! Get over here before someone sees you and calls the cops!'' I heard Nathalie half whisper at me from a room on the second floor.

What stood out directly was that she was fused with Leona, or at least partially because her hair was completely white, her head is the only thing poking out of the open door as she motioned me to come inside of the room.

''Hurry!'' She kept repeating as I made my way over to the room. ''Jeez could you have been any more obvious!?'' She asked a little panicked as we entered the room.

''You can calm down now, we're all alone.'' I said reaching for my helmet.

''Allow me.'' Nathalie said making her way over to me and carefully removing the helmet. ''There, much better.'' She said with a satisfied smile as she took in every detail of my face.

''What's up with your getup?'' I asked, taking a strand of white hair and playing with it between my armored fingers.

''O-Oh this! Well like I said I feel like Pete's up to something…'' Nathalie explained nervously. ''The last few days have been nerve-wrecking for me…''

''What did I tell you? Don't worry about that weasel, he doesn't have the guts to act against you.'' I said with a chuckle. ''And if he knew about what we've been up to, why hasn't he done anything to stop us yet?''

''Good point…'' Nathalie said, taking a seat on the bed in the room. ''So…''

''About Cathy.'' I said mimicking her and taking a seat next to her, placing my hand on her thigh. ''What are you so afraid of?''

''The responsibilities, the future; both hers and ours, the costs… literally everything! How can you be so calm?'' Nathalie asked with wide-eyed.

''That's simple really; we don't care.'' I answered without a second thought.

What?! W-What are you talking about?''

''Both Cathy and I don't care.'' I said again, being cut off almost immediately.

''HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT!?'' Nathalie yelled getting up from the bed, throwing her hands in the air. ''This girl- She… She needs a good home!''

''Nath… Do you know what she really wants? The one thing Cathy **really** wants?'' I asked, calmly grabbing Nathalie's hand and pulling her back onto the bed.

''N-No…'' She answered, looking away sheepishly.

''To be with us!'' I said making her look at me. ''The only thing she wants is a normal life! She doesn't care if we're rich or poor if we're smart or not! All she wants is her family! Preferably her real family; Us, Nathalie!''

''But what about-''

''Dammit Nathalie! Don't you get it?!'' This time it was my turn to get up, looking down at the ground. ''I… Don't you think I'm not scared? To disappoint Cathy or not live up to her expectations?''

''Mark… I never thought you'd be scared about this…'' Nathalie said, embracing me.

''Scared to death actually.'' I said with a nervous chuckle. ''All I want for her is to be happy, but the more I try the more I seem to fuck everything up for her.''

''Don't say that… You're probably the only one who has been sticking his neck out for her…'' Nathalie whispered into my ear.

''And what good has it done? We're fugitives, our reputation is gone, the people are afraid of us and we're in hiding! Oh yeah, what a great job you did Mark!'' I yelled at myself, balling my fists in frustration.

''Hey, look at me.'' Nathalie said, grabbing my face and turning it, forcing me to look at her. ''You were the only one who saw that she had some good in her, everyone else wanted her locked up, but not you, you saved her.''

''…''

''Mark we're going to find a way for others to see that she isn't who Viktor created her to be, I promise.'' Nathalie said, bringing a small smile to my face. ''And stop degrading yourself so much, it's unlike you.''

''I'll try my best.'' I said, feeling Nathalie carefully force my head against hers.

''I know you will, we're all going to try.'' Nathalie whispered, mustering up a smile. ''You, me and Cathy.''

''So, Cathy gets to stay?'' I asked, a small forming on my face.

''Would that be enough to shut you up?'' Nathalie asked, chuckling a bit.

''No.''

''Hopefully, this does.'' She said as an orange light nearly blinded me at close range, revealing Nathalie wearing an almost see-through nightgown.

''Were you planning on this?'' I asked with a grin, earning a sigh from Nathalie before she shut me up with a kiss.

* * *

 **''So yeah, I'm back and I'll actually try to keep a decent update schedule up this time!''**

 **~ Emerald ''Em'' R0se, PROJECT: Earth chapter 32, the authors note**

 **I eh... Guess I lied? I tried tho! ~.~**

 **Please believe me when I say that I tried and that college is a pain in the ass. AND don't believe anyone that tells you that I've been clocking in over 100 hours in Destiny 2 again. I have a problem I know.**

 **But in all honesty, it took me a while to finish up the chapter since I didn't know what kind of approach I wanted to take after the beginning (I hope it's not too noticeable...), As far as excuses go I have a lot of 'distractions' at the moment, both irl and as a gamer :3**

 **Still, I appreciate all of you still reading the story and keeping up; You guys are the best! After next week I'll have a week off of college and I'll try to bring myself to write a chapter for my other story (Check it out if you want, it takes place in Runeterra), AND I'll also try to finish up the current arc with a nice finale chapter, maybe split it in two? :thinking: So much I still want to put in but if it gets too big I'll split it up. (For the person asking for Roxanne, you're in luck next chapter).**

 **I'll try my best to keep my promise this time,**

 **Until next time,**

 **Emerald out.**


	34. Chapter 34

PROJECT: Earth

Chapter 34: Fatal misstep

* * *

''Finally home,'' I whispered to myself, a small smile finding its way onto my face as I stepped into the elevator and pushed the button to the penthouse floor.

I closed my eyes for what felt like a moment, letting the fatigue of the long night of work take over for a moment. I only opened my eyes because my trance was broken by the sound of the elevator doors opening.

''Maybe I should just head straight to bed…'' I murmured, stretching my arms and walking towards the apartment door. ''Oh crap!'' I quickly turned back, nearly forgetting to take my briefcase with newly designed blueprints. ''Yeah, straight to bed.'' I chuckled at myself.

''Welcome home Agnes.'' I was greeted by the custom A.I. I used for managing most of the apartment.

''Thank you, could you close the blinds in my room and lock the apartment door please?'' I asked politely, noticing a piece of paper on the coffee table.

''Affirmative.'' The voice said as I exchanged my briefcase for the piece of paper on the coffee table.

''Ah, good it's from Mark.'' I said inspecting the messy handwriting. ''This better explain why he acted so secretive when calling a few hours back.''

'' _Agnes, Nathalie and I agreed it was time we talked about Cathy so I'm probably spending the night with her. Cathy is sleeping in your bed. I'll be back tomorrow morning. Mark''_

''Aha, so that's why he was a bit secretive.'' I said, stuffing the note into my pocket. ''Those two just can't stay away from each other, hee, hee''

As I giggled to myself I saw I had a missed call on my home phone, which seems a bit strange since not many people had my home phone number. ''Besides, who still has a home phone in this day and age.'' I chuckled to myself.

Before listening in on the missed call I took a look at the small collection of pictures of Alisha, Damian and me on different trips, some old and some from years ago.

''Heh, I wonder if Alisha and Damian remember some of these trips.'' I said, grabbing a framed picture of Alisha giving me a kiss on the cheek while on a trip to Portugal years ago. The picture bringing back pleasant memories. ''I promise we'll do something like that again someday… I promise.'' I said with a sigh before putting away the picture.

I glanced at my briefcase on the coffee table, feeling guilt build inside me for working so many over hours the past half year. _''I suppose Alisha and Damian understand considering the situation.''_

I shook my head to clear it from the guilt and distractions and turned to the answering machine, noticing something. ''This is Alisha her number from HQ… Why would she call me right after I left?''

''Missed call from: Alisha, now playing message.'' The answering machine said before a short pause.

'' _Angie, if you're there, please listen it's really- shit!''_ Alisha cut herself off as a bunch of voices could be heard in the background. _''C'mon, c'mon, c'mon just leave already…''_

There was a moment of silence, making me think Alisha had gotten herself into a lot of trouble. I stood frozen in place, phone plastered to my ear, only listening to Alisha's muffled breathing before the sound of a door closing could be heard, making me exhale at the sound of Alisha's voice returning.

'' _So like I said, really important. It's about O'Neill and his kid. Somehow her energy ratings… Somehow she popped up on our radar…''_ The message making my eyes go wide in panic. _''There's more… The board took over, they've been planning this for a few days now, waiting for the signal to move and IT. JUST. DID. They're sending the hunters-''_

I dropped the phone, shattering the glass display before storming up the small flight of stairs towards the guest bedroom, tripping on the last flight of stairs sending me to the floor. I barely caught myself, still banging my head on the floor before scrambling to my feet in panic, throwing open the door to the bedroom.

''CATHY?!'' I yelled through the house, praying to whatever god was listening that she was still in the apartment. All I could feel was my chest beating in my throat.

'' _Why?! Why would they?! Have they gone insane!? What if he can't control his champion?! What if she can't keep him in check or worse… can't bring herself to kill him…''_ Thoughts raced through my head as I burst into my own bedroom, completely cloaked in darkness with the blinds down.

''OPEN THE BLINDS!'' I ordered as the A.I. complied and slowly opened the blinds, letting the moonlight shine onto the empty bed, the only thing on the bed being a letter.

I nearly ripped the paper in half trying to open it to see its contents, it was what I feared, a goodbye letter from Cathy.

'' _Aunt Agnes, I want to say I'm sorry for being such a bother for the last couple of days. I know I can't stay with you or with papa since mama doesn't want me. I'm going to try and find my sister and try to convince her to run away with me like we always wanted to, please tell papa to not come looking for me, it's better this way. Signed Cathy.''_

My legs gave out mid-letter, I hung hunched over my own bed, trying my best to continue reading the letter. ''Why? Cathy, why?'' I cried tears mixed with drops of blood fell onto the letter making me realize my nose has been bleeding from hitting my head. ''Please don't do this…''

* * *

''Are you sure you don't want to fuse? I can keep you warm from the rain.'' Ashe asked as I made my way through the deserted streets.

''Shhh! I already told you to shut up! It might be the middle of the night, but that doesn't mean there aren't any people around!'' I hissed at my phone, Ashe's blue visor glowing on screen.

''Yeah about that, don't you think it's a bit dangerous for a girl your age to be out in the streets late at night?'' Ashe asked making me sigh loudly. ''At least cover your head, your hair's already soaked…''

''How far is it?'' I asked with my shaky voice, barely managing to hold back my emotions.

''If you're trying to leave the city you're better off taking public transit kid it's going to be one hell of a trip.'' Ashe stated with a sigh of her own.

I opened my mouth to argue that we would need money to take a bus but decided against it, thinking of the bond between me and Ashe Mark spoke off. Instead, I decided to give Ashe's idea a try and look for a bus stop. _''It might also keep me dry for a moment…''_

''Kid are you sure it's a good idea to just leave? Don't you think Mark will come looking for you?'' Ashe asked after a moment of silence. ''We both know you got your stubbornness from him.''

''She'll hold him back, telling him that this is for the best.'' I barely managed to get out. ''Besides, Viktor was right, I'm just a failed experiment…''

''I highly doubt that.'' Ashe said, sounding a bit angry. ''You feel, you wish, you dream, out of all the hosts I've shared a bond within a short time. You are the most human of them all and **that** makes you perfect even if Viktor says otherwise.''

''Ashe…'' I mumbled, taking my phone from my pocket once more and gazing at the blue visor on the screen. ''Thank you.'' I muttered as I hugged the phone, slightly shivering from the cold.

''There's a bus stop right around the corner over there, take a rest there and try to warm up a little.'' Ashe suggested awkwardly, her voice sounding different almost comforting.

Just as Ashe said, a small bus stop waited for us around the corner. I quickly ran into it, shielding me from the rain and cold wind. I took a seat on the metal bench and moved my short hair out of my face.

''Last chance kid, are you sure about this?'' Ashe asked, she too sounded unsure unlike before.

''N-No'' I sniffled and began to cry. ''B-But what else can I do? I don't have a-anywhere to go.''

''Poor thing, what are you doing out here on the streets this late at night?'' A feminine voice suddenly asked. ''Did you lose your parents?''

I let out a gasp and scrambled to my feet, carefully eyeing the source of the voice. Next to the metal bench stood a tall brunette, dressed in a long dark green coat holding an umbrella to her side like it was a fancy rapier, hiding the part of her face I was looking at with her long hair.

''I-I'' I tried to get a word out but something about the woman made me uneasy as if she had this familiar aura around her.

''Don't worry chérie.'' She said moving the long locks of hair out the way, revealing a purple glow in her eyes. ''I know exactly how to fix this.''

* * *

 _10 minutes earlier_

'' _Agent Fiora, the board has decided to send you out to do some fieldwork.''_ Gérard, our supervisor said with a strict tone.

'' _What? Us? Why us?''_ I asked getting up from my bed and putting away my phone, surprised by the sudden news.

'' _I do not make the rules Madame, you are expected to leave in fifteen minutes, pack only essentials.''_ The older man said with a small bow before turning his back to me, ready to leave.

'' _What kind of fieldwork Gérard? Where are we going?''_ I asked the man as he was about to leave my bedroom.

'' _With current events back in your hometown the board has decided it's time to see how much you two have grown, see it as a test of trust.''_ He said looking over his shoulder.

'' _So they think it's a good idea to just throw us into the deep? Not to mention pin us against Mark?!''_

'' _In the end that's how all tests are supposed to be, no?''_ Gérard asked before taking his leave. _''I suggest you start packing, you have ten minutes.''_

'' _Not all tests have the possibility of ending in a bloodbath or with me killing my boyf- partner…''_ I huffed annoyed and quickly grabbed a duffle bag to put clothes in.

''Princess, hey. Snap out of it, no daydreaming.'' I felt someone carefully nudging me awake.

I groaned a bit, not wanting to wake up from my power nap. I blinked a few times, letting my eyes adjust to the lights from the screens in the van we were sitting in, waiting on orders or a general go signal at that matter.

''Hm?'' Was the only thing groggily leaving my throat. ''Ugh, I wasn't sleeping just… thinking of something.'' I managed to lift my head from my makeshift pillow although I wasn't sure what it was.

''Yeah right, that's why there's drool on my shoulder...'' Tobias said with a hint of annoyance in his voice, wiping his jacket clean. ''If you're tired then let me do this. I can handle it.''

''Sure you can handle it alone, that's why I'm always the one babysitting you.'' I said with a smile.

''See? You are worried about me, you think I can't do this.'' Tobias said, now sounding full on annoyed. ''Ever since I started slowly gaining control you've been worried about me, don't you trust me?''

''Tobi… You know I trust you, it's just that...'' I tried searching for the right words but didn't manage to find them to Tobias and my own displeasure.

''Roxanne I'm not a monster, at least I try not to be… Back then I was… uhm…'' Tobias stopped mid-sentence, trying his hardest to find the right words. ''I was…''

''Misguided.'' I finished his sentence, covering his hand with mine making him look me in the eyes. ''I see you're still struggling with finding the right words sometimes.'' I giggled, making him grumble a bit.

''I might struggle sometimes, but the neural implant helps me out a lot.'' Tobias said after a second of brooding, a grin slowly forming on his face.

''Yeah, it's really doing an amazing job on you.'' I said with a smile, resting my head on his shoulder again closing my eyes as he rested his head on mine.

''You sure you're not tired? You look tired.'' He whispered.

''You really want to prove yourself to these suits don't you?'' I asked with a smile on my face. ''You've already shown them enough Tobi.''

''Easy for you to say, you don't have a psychopath connected to your mind.'' He answered with a hint of worry in his voice, something rarely shown by him.

''You sound tense, why not sit this one out.'' I said trying to calm him down. ''It's just an inexperienced, scared girl; I can handle it, even if I could use a nap.''

Before Tobias could growl a response, a small screen in the van began a video call. ''That is exactly the plan Madame Roxanne.'' Gérard's face presented itself on the screen.

''Monsieur Gérard, thank you for finally joining us at this hour.'' Fiora spoke up after being silent for most of the trip.

''Shouldn't you be asleep right now? What time is it in Paris anyway?'' Tobias asked.

''That does not matter Monsieur Tobias, what does matter is the task at hand.'' Gérard said stroking his beard before grabbing a small stack of papers.

''Which is? The board dragged us from Paris to the other side of the globe without providing barely any intel.'' Tobias growled annoyed.

''Don't listen to him Gérard it's probably the jetlag talking, please Monsieur, the intel if there is any.'' I said, nudging Tobias in the ribs.

''Merci, your target is the young companion of an old friend, Monsieur O'Neill.'' Gérard said calmly reading the papers. ''I assume you both know who I'm talking about?''

'' _MARK?!''_ A thought shot through my head, the shock making me lose my relaxed composure.

'' _Calm down chérie, focus.''_ Fiora's voice rang through my head. _''Let's hear him out.''_

'' _Right, right… I'm calm, thanks Fiora.''_

''They seem to be split up as we only managed to locate one high energy reading a few days ago and pinpoint it to a smaller area within the city, no specific locations sadly.'' Gérard finished reading his intel, putting away a small stack of papers.

''So we're being pulled from our safe house in Paris, thrown into the city, sit on our asses for almost a full twenty-four hours and only now are we being told that we're supposed to be patrolling this area?'' I asked agitatedly. ''I have better things to do you know…''

''Not exactly Madame Roxanne, you are stuck to follow our orders until the board agrees to offer you two more freedom.'' Gérard said smugly, making my jaw drop at the sudden change of atmosphere.

''Now you listen here-'' I yelled getting up before Tobias reached for my blouse and pulled me back into my seat.

''Jheesh, I thought I was the one with anger issues…'' He muttered staring me down, his empty eyes meeting my fierce glare. ''Listen I partially agree with both of you but can we just get to the point? You clearly have more to say Gérard.''

''That I do.'' Gérard said, putting his hands together and leaning his head on them. ''To answer your patrolling question, Madame Roxanne… Not exactly, we've already been monitoring the whole area and located a young girl walking in the rain, alone a moment ago, that's why you two are out here right now.''

''Child, female, alone… vulnerable'' Tobias mumbled some specifics. ''Seems like an easy target.''

''Do not underestimate her Monsieur Tobias, I was warned to take a cautious approach.'' Gérard warned with a serious tone.

''Anything else we need to know? Any specifics?'' I asked calming down. ''What's she got to do with Mark?''

''Don't underestimate the little one, and **don't** harm her. We don't know whether she is hostile or not. About her relation with Monsieur O'Neill… We don't know.'' Gérard said vaguely, almost dodging the question.

''Gérard if there's anything else that you know of, please tell us.'' I requested, meeting the serious stare from the Frenchman. ''Maybe there's something we can exploit.''

''I like the way you think Madame, but sadly we have no more information so I suggest you get a move on for now before our time window closes completely.'' Gérard said giving me a faithful smile. ''After all, she's the bait that will lure out Monsieur O'Neill.''

With his message delivered, Gérard gave a small bow before the small screen in the van turned off, leaving Tobias and me in the nearly completely dark van.

''Alright! Time to move.'' I said exhaling through my nostrils and getting up from my seat next to the large man. ''Tobias you stay here and will serve as a back-up if needed.''

''And what about you?'' He asked already knowing the answer.

''I'm going to meet our little friend.'' I replied, grabbing my phone and umbrella before putting on my green raincoat.

I threw open the back of the van, ready to step out when a hand pulled me back just a little, forcing me to turn around. ''Be careful'' Tobias said trying to avoid eye contact.

''Oh please, when am I not careful?'' I laughed at his attempt to hide his embarrassment by looking away.

''I can name a few situations, chérie'' Fiora's voice came from my phone, followed by a chuckle.

''Oh hush you.'' I said joining in on the chuckling.

''Promise me.'' Tobias said, this time sounding more serious.

''I promise I'll be careful.'' I said stepping out of the van, into the pouring rain. ''And you're clear to engage when it gets too hot.''

''Acknowledged.'' He said with a small smile, sitting back down in the van and closing the doors behind me.

* * *

I lay back onto the hotel bed, taking the wet towel off my head and letting my still drying locks of hair hang. I took a moment to get comfortable, supporting my head with one hand and resting the other on my body, attempting to look like a model at the beach or something.

''Hey Nath do you think this is right?'' Mark asked walking out of the bathroom, trying to inspect the bandages covering his shoulder.

''Clearly, you screwed it up, get over here, I'll fix it.'' I said motioning for him to sit on the bed as I redid his bandages. ''You have to make sure you cover it up correctly…''

While redoing the bandages I noticed Mark sometimes grunt in pain, especially when I tugged the bandages to secure them more tightly. ''There, that should do it.'' I said as we both inspected my handy work.

''Thanks.'' He exhaled and lay back onto the bed with me. ''Are you sure you didn't want to take a bath instead of a shower?''

''No, this is all I need.'' Without a second thought, I latched myself onto Mark's arm, pulling him closer and resting my head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. ''Ah~ perfect.'' I said closing my eyes, feeling Mark stroke my damp hair with his free hand.

''You look nice.'' Mark said after a moment of silence.

I opened my eyes before giving him a confused stare, only mustering a confused hum which was met with a chuckle. ''What's so funny?''

''This looks better on you then that lingerie…'' Mark admitted, not daring to look me in the eyes.

''But these are just my regular pajama shorts and top…'' I muttered a bit annoyed, tightening my grasp on his arm.

Before I could continue complaining about my pajamas Mark quickly spoke up again. ''This just feels… more like you.''

''But didn't you like the lingerie? I've been wanting to wear it for the longest time.'' I asked with a pout. ''It wasn't the cheapest piece they had either…''

''Don't get me wrong! It was different-'' Mark started but shut himself up, hearing my annoyed grumble. ''Uhm… Cute, yeah, it looked really cute on you.''

''Better.'' I said satisfied with his comment. ''Glad you enjoyed it.''

I loosened my grip on his arm a bit and relaxed once more, feeling my head move up and down matching his breaths. I couldn't help but stare at his wounded shoulder, feeling a bit of guilt for using Solar Flare on him back at the barn.

''So, what now?'' Mark suddenly asked, pulling me out of my daydream.

''D-Don't tell me you want to go another round! I-I'm exhausted!'' I bolted up, meeting Mark's eyes with my own before noticing his face take on a crimson shade.

''I… meant with Cathy…'' He said chuckling nervously.

''Oh! Of course! How could I be so stupid!'' I nearly yelled, quickly placing my head in the crevice of his neck and relaxed.

''Nathalie, I think we caught up enough for now…'' Mark said, laughing off his own embarrassment. ''We should discuss how we're going to tackle this problem.''

''I've been thinking about it a bit.'' I said after we both calmed down a little bit. ''What about turning the study into a bedroom for her, it's not like we're using it that much and the room isn't that small either.''

''That doesn't sound like a bad idea at all.'' Mark said enthusiastically, turning his face a bit to look at me. ''Not like we have that much time to use it…''

''Ugh, don't get me started.'' I sighed in agreement before we both chuckled a bit. ''Maybe we should childproof the windows, get some nice furniture, maybe some stuffed animals and repaint the room of course.''

''Mhm, I bet she'd love that.'' Mark took a moment before continuing. ''Now for a color that she likes.''

''Wait you don't know what kind of color she likes?'' I asked a little shocked. ''Please tell me you're joking…''

''I don't, is that weird or something?'' Mark asked back, giving me a confused look. ''Why are you expecting me to know these kinds of things?''

''Because she's been in your care for almost two weeks! Don't you two talk or something?'' I asked baffled. ''Don't you want to know what she likes?''

''Alright, alright I get it calm down…'' Mark said nonchalantly. ''But please do acknowledge that I was unconscious for a while and before that we were running and hiding.''

''Point taken.'' I said feeling a bit of guilt gnawing at me. ''You seriously have no clue what she might like though?''

''I just said- No!'' Mark sighed annoyed. ''By the way, Cathy is way more focused on controlling her powers and her weapon right now.''

''So? I don't expect you two to be training all day, especially knowing you.'' I teased, knowing Mark tends to skip training sessions at times.

''It's different with Cathy… She has this daily routine; eat, train, sleep, repeat…'' Mark gave me a serious look as he talked. ''Nath, it's like she's stuck in this unhealthy cycle.''

''But… she's just a child.'' I said letting Mark's words sink in. ''Kids her age should be having fun, or be busy making friends or at least have a general idea of what that all means…''

''We can't get hung up on this right now.'' Mark said staring up at the ceiling. ''She probably wants to change her old habits, but right now there's too much going on to focus on changing her routines…''

''But doesn't she get bored of doing the same things over and over again?'' I asked, trying my best to stay on the subject.

''Nath, she gets up before me, waits for me to join her to do exercises and when I call quits, she either keeps going or comes with me only to fall asleep.'' Mark said with a sigh.

''It's almost like she's programmed to do the same things every day… poor thing…''

''Don't worry, we'll find a way to bring out the little girl that's stuck deep down.'' Mark said suddenly facing me, a warm smile on his face. ''I know we can do it.''

''Mhm! Yeah!'' I nodded in agreement. ''That's what she wants right? A family and normal life?''

''Yeah.''

''Then let's do our absolute best to give her that life!'' I said determined to give Cathy the life she wants.

In my excitement I climbed on top of Mark, locking him in place with one of my legs on both sides of his torso. The act making him crack a wide grin. ''What's so funny?''

''Nothing, just enjoying the view.'' Mark said, resting his head in his hands. ''I thought you were exhausted?''

''Well~'' I purred resting my chest on his, our faces inches apart. ''Maybe I can go another round if you promise to be gentle~~''

''Ohohoho, yes ma'am.'' Mark said slowly getting up, forcing me to hold onto him to not fall backward.

''Hey! Careful!'' I giggled before noticing Mark staring at his jacket on the floor. ''Mark? What's wrong?''

''Yi? Who's calling?'' Mark asked as I let go of Mark, giving him space to walk over and check his phone.

''It's Cathy.'' Yi answered. ''Do you want me to take the call? You two seemed busy.'' He chuckled.

''It's fine, I'll take it myself.''

* * *

''W-What are you talking about?'' The young girl asked scared, backing up slowly. ''L-Leave me alone…''

''I'm sorry chérie, but I can't do that.'' I said throwing aside the umbrella ''Fiora, if you wouldn't mind?'' I asked kindly.

Within an instant, I fused with Fiora. Within the bright pink light, we were becoming one, her armor projected onto my body as her rapier found its way into my hands.

''Now chérie, if you wouldn't mind coming with me quietly?'' I asked the young girl who instead turned around and ran off in a mad dash.

''Why do we even bother?'' Fiora chuckled as I set chase, moving my rapier to my side.

The moment I turned around the corner of the bus stop, an arrow shot straight at my face. With barely any time to respond, I managed to cut the arrow in half before it could hit me without using Riposte, knowing I'd have to hold the ability in case of a crystal arrow.

''Bien! Roxanne, tres bien!'' Fiora complimented excitedly.

''That's what we trained so hard for.'' I said with a grin while scanning the area for the little girl, who clearly was the right target.

''Who do you work for?!'' The girl asked from her hiding place, this time sounding more urgent and collected compared to the scared voice she used earlier.

''I work for the same people your big friend works for.'' I answered calmly, searching for possible hiding places. ''They just want to talk to you and Mark.''

There was no response, just the sounds of the city's nightlife. I moved forward slowly making my way into the light of a street light.

Within an instant of me moving into the light, another arrow shot towards me from the side, forcing another quick reaction out of me, this time managing to cut the arrow in half a lot easier compared to the surprise arrow last time.

With a,

 ***PANG***

The streetlight I was standing underneath suddenly exploded due to the arrowhead I sliced off shooting up into the lamp.

''What are you planning?'' I asked underneath my breath.

''What is it? Can't fight what you can't see?'' The girl asked smugly as a Volley of arrows made shot my way, forcing me to Riposte the multiple arrows.

''Hmpf, clever tactics but by doing so you gave away your position.'' I said lunging to the side, my rapier connecting with something metal. ''I'm perfectly capable of fighting something I can't see.''

''I noticed.'' A familiar voice said as the metal I connected with pushed back with surprising force. ''Hello Roxanne.''

The source of the voice began to light up a little, showing off a familiar orange glow from armor and a blade that I hadn't seen in a very long time.

''Mark, you've been trouble for the board lately.'' I said taking a combat-ready stance, rapier slightly tilted his way.

''It doesn't have to be this way Rox, you can still walk away, and I'll talk to Pete myself.'' Mark said calmly, mimicking a combat-ready stance just in case.

''Is that what all that destruction was a few days ago?'' I asked circling Mark as the glow of a blue armor lit up behind him, revealing the girl hiding behind him.

''Just a misunderstanding from Pete's side, everything we do is in self-defense'' Mark answered never breaking his calm posture as he mimicked the circling. ''And what's with this board you keep talking about?''

''The big suits that run it all Markie, the ones that basically own us.''

''I have no idea what you're talking about…'' Mark said confused.

''*Sigh* They left us no choice!'' After my sigh I engaged, lunging towards Mark and locking blades. ''You know I'd say I'm sorry but ever since our first fight in that bank I've been edging for a rematch!''

''You know;'' Mark began his sentence, pushing against his blade with more force than I anticipated, knocking me back a little. ''You could have asked or-''

Before he could finish his sentence or expect it, I lunged forward again, this time making sure to use Bladework to power up my attack, hoping to hit the vital that finally presented itself on my HUD.

''Cathy, move!'' He yelled forcing the girl behind him to the side with his free arm before moving himself, resulting in my attack landing in his side, hitting the vital that presented itself.

''MARK!'' The girl fused with Ashe yelled taking it upon herself to fight back as Mark held his side. ''Don't hurt him!'' She yelled swinging her bow like a club.

I effortlessly avoided the attack, spinning out of its way before catching and yanking the ranged weapon from the girl's hands with my free hand. ''Bad decision.'' I grinned as I pointed my blade at her.

''Oh but I'm just stalling.'' The girl said with a grin of her own.

''What are you?-'' Before I could finish my sentence Mark attacked me from my flank, forcing me to sloppily block the attack, dropping the bow in the process.

''Having trouble keeping up with us?'' Mark asked, forcing my blade upwards, breaking the block and giving me shove with his shoulder sending me to the ground. ''C'mon that can't be all you got?'' He asked amused.

''Oh, don't worry. We have a lot more tricks up our sleeves.'' Tobias' announced, atop the broken streetlight stood an armored figure, the neon red lighting up the broken streetlight.

''Zed?!'' Mark asked surprised, taking a few steps back, blindly searching for Cathy behind him with his free arm. ''I thought they locked you up?'' He asked, never taking his eyes off Tobias.

''What is it O'Neill? Looking for this?'' Tobias asked disappearing into the shadows before reappearing on the post, holding Cathy by her hood.

''MARK! HELP!''

''CATHY!'' Mark yelled taking a step forward before being stopped by my rapier pointed at him. ''Rox what's going on?! Why is he walking free?!''

''He's not a bad guy Mark, he's trying to better himself and so am I,'' I said halfheartedly. ''I'm sorry that we couldn't work together but I was needed elsewhere.''

''Like hell you were!'' Mark yelled powering up his blade with Wuju style, channeling high amounts of energy into the blade before charging me with blinding speed. ''Cathy hold on! I'm coming!''

My attempt at blocking his attack was futile as the strike nearly broke my rapier in two. The force behind the attack knocking me off balance and instantly forcing the tip of the rapier to the ground.

''Mark calm down-'' I tried to talk him down but he wouldn't listen, nearly plowing through me to get to where Tobias was holding Cathy, knocking me to the ground with another shoulder charge.

''Let her go!'' Mark yelled at the top of his lungs, slashing at the broken streetlight, making it fall slowly.

''Odd choice of words but alright.'' Tobias chuckled leaping into the air and letting go of the small frame of the girl.

Tobias quickly disappeared from the air and into the shadows, leaving Cathy to plummet down to the street below, forcing Mark to shift his attention to the falling girl.

''Gotcha!'' He yelled as he leaped into the air, catching Cathy before landing safely on his feet and giving the girl a quick hug.

''Seems like you still get distracted easily…'' Tobias said reappearing from the shadows behind the two, slashing his arm blade over Mark's back, making him drop Cathy in pain.

''TOBIAS DON'T!'' I yelled trying to stop him. ''Dammit, this wasn't the plan!'' I yelled rushing in to stop Tobias if I needed to.

''What? You were getting your ass handed to you!'' Tobias yelled back, turning around in annoyance. ''I'm not the kind of person that stands back and watches as someone I care about is being knocked around!''

In response to his comment, I activated Grand Challenge, knowing I didn't have any other choice but to end the fight quickly before either Tobias or Mark lost control.

''Oh, come on Rox! I'm in perfect control of my champion!'' Tobias said, taking out both his arm blades, ready to fight me if he needed to. ''Don't make me-''

He silenced himself instantly as I shot past him, hitting Mark's frontal vital as he attempted to strike Tobias down while his back was turned. The surprise and pain from my attack made him recoil back a little, giving me an opening to play with as I struck another vital.

''Mark!'' The girl raised her voice before reaching for her bow, readying the weapon and drawing a unique, glowing arrow back on it, ready to aid her partner in the now two on two fight.

''NGH, Cathy! Run!'' Mark managed to yell, blocking my path to her by sacrificing another vital.

''No! I can fight! I can help you!'' She yelled back, focusing as best she could before she let the arrow go, heading straight for me.

'' _Crystal Arrow incoming Roxanne!_ '' Fiora warned. '' _We must dodge it!_ ''

'' _She's clever! She knows that if I back off, they'll escape, but if I don't, I'll be frozen in place and they'll still escape! Damn!''_

''Stop worrying princess!'' Tobias yelled, appearing in my peripheral vision, leaping from the shadows to block the arrow for me. ''I got you covered!'' He confirmed as he used his arm blade to break the arrow in mid-air, flash-freezing only part of his arm.

''Copy!'' I confirmed loudly as I continued my assault on Mark's last vital, creating a Victory Zone and making him drop to the ground, defeated.

''Cathy…'' He muttered before letting his head hit the ground.

''No! Mark!'' The girl yelled reaching for him, completely ignoring Tobias who slowly walked up to her. ''Get up! You have to!''

''You're coming with us.'' Tobias said calmly, his large figure towering over the small girl weeping on the floor. ''Don't resist, don't make this any harder.'' He said putting his hand on her shoulder.

''LET GO OF ME!'' She yelled, struggling to release herself from his grip before running over to Mark. ''Get up! You have to get up!'' She cried, nudging Mark's unconscious figure.

''Mission complete. Requesting pick up.'' Tobias confirmed with HQ through his comms. ''Targets apprehended.''

''We did what had to be done chérie …'' Fiora said as I looked down at Mark. ''We had our orders, and we both know that letting him go wouldn't solve anything.''

''I know Fiora, it's just that… this doesn't feel like a victory at all…'' I said crossing my arms as the victory zone disappeared.

''I think she won't be a problem any longer.'' Tobias said walking over to me, putting his unfrozen hand on my shoulder. ''Sorry for doubting you back there…''

''Tobias, I should have-Oh my god your arm!'' I yelled, noticing his frozen arm all the way up until his bicep. ''We need to get that off you!''

''Don't worry, I think they'll handle that.'' He said pointing at a small convoy of vehicles approaching us.

* * *

 **It's been 84 years...**

 **BUT IM BACK BINCHES, YEET**

 **Alright, we got that out of the way, Hola from Spain everyone. I have some exciting news to share (and it's not a lie this time as I say) that I'm officially back to writing FF.**

 **I thought I'd get more time to write FF when I got back to college but classes were slowly killing me as I drowned in work. Now for the exciting news, I'm staying in Spain for the coming 19 weeks as part of an internship which means I won't have a lot of distractions compared to when I'm at home where I go out with friends or play League or other games on my pc.**

 **Next to that, I've taken it upon myself to try and write daily and hopefully upload once every one/two weeks, sadly no more promises since my internship requires me to work 12-hour shifts in a hospital and I did come here to study and improve myself as a nurse instead of writing FF but it will be my second focus.**

 **After the introduction tomorrow I'll get to work on a chapter or two for my other story but do expect another chapter for PROJECT: Earth in about a month.**

 **I hope people are still reading this story, I don't blame them if they don't since it's been so long but sadly life took a few turns here and there, not all of them good which is the worst part. I suppose one of the things made me realize that there is probably people reading this and that I should finish the story for the sake of the readers who enjoy the story.**

 **I just want to thank the people who have been patiently waiting for another chapter and I want to assure all readers (From both this story and my other story) that I'm going to try my best to deliver. You're all amazing people,**

 **Until next time,**

 **Emerald out.**


End file.
